Love Enough For Two
by truelove333
Summary: This is my first fic! No curse. Anthony Gold never thought he could find someone who would love him and his two year old son Ben. His mind is changed when he meets Belle French, a college student who helps take care of Ben at her college's daycare center. As they fall in love, their pasts catch up with them. Can they make it through together? Or will they remain broken?
1. For the First Time

Anthony Gold was an exceptionally ordinary man. At thirty years old he had little to cherish and even less to mourn. He had a son, Benjamin, who was the center of his universe. He had his mother, Nancy, who would come and spend time with his son every Monday without fail. His ex-wife left him just before Ben's first birthday and he hadn't heard from her since. Something that he never wished to discuss.

Anthony had been an only child and because of this he was forced to take over his fathers cooperation after his death. It wasn't a fate he would have chosen for himself, but it made his mother happy and that was enough for now.

Anthony and his son lived in a very beautiful house on the outskirts of the small town of Stroybrooke, Maine. It was two stories, painted a light grey with hunter green shudders and doors. There was a porch that wrapped around the entire home and often smoke coming from the chimney. It was somewhat deserted which was the way he liked it. There was a small pond close to the property, along with a quiet park where he would take his son to play every Sunday.

His father's business, while it was not what he desired, did make him very wealthy. It also occupied most of his time. Ben spent all day at a daycare center on the town's college campus. While he was rarely at home, Anthony had formed a very special, very unbreakable bond with his son. He loved him more than anything and all he hoped was that Ben returned that love.

He often thought that what Ben truly needed was a mother. He wanted his son to have everything he both needed and desired, no matter what price. He wanted Ben to be brought up in a whole family, not a broken one. Finding him a mother though would be rather difficult. Falling in love with one was no easy task. Never mind falling for two. They were happy enough for now though.

Each year Storybrooke hosted one of the largest pumpkin festivals in the country. It was the only Saturday each year that was easy for him to get off. He looked forward to sharing this day with his son for a month now. He bought him, what he thought, was an adorable costume. A little lion. He had the stroller ready, along with the diaper bag and since it was such a beautiful day and the walk to Main St. wasn't considerably far, he decided a walk would be nice for the pair of them.

What he didn't count on though was how much Ben would hate the enormous crowd of people. He didn't count on the material of the costume to cause a rash against his son's baby soft skin either. Anthony knew he wasn't the best father in the world, but his pride was truly shattered when he realized he didn't even know how to make his son stop crying. So there he sat on the sidewalk with a screaming two year old in his arms staring at the crowd desperately hoping someone would come to his rescue.

He didn't actually believe someone would and when she did he couldn't stop staring at her. She was younger then himself. He assumed she was a college student, maybe in her sophomore or junior year. Her skin was fair, her face wore very little make-up, but she didn't even require what little she put on. Her eyes sparkled blue like the ocean. Her smile could have lit every pumpkin on the street. Her hair was a chestnut brown and cascaded down her back in soft curls. She was perfection.

"You look like you could use some help" she said. Her voice was just as honey sweet as he imagined. When he didn't respond right away she gave him a confused look and added, "are you alright?"

He looked into her eyes and somehow managed to stammer out a yes. He tried to stand up but with his still screaming and flailing child held tight against him, it made the task rather difficult. The girl immediately reached down and scooped Ben up in her arms, bouncing him lightly, stroking his hair and whispering sweet nothings into his ear. Anthony couldn't help but feel a small sting of jealousy. He quickly shook it off as he watched in amazement as his sons screams soon turned to silent tears which turned into soft hiccups.

"Ben is very temperamental" she laughed, "he could probably best me in a screaming contest." He laughed at that. Then looked back at her in bewilderment. How had she known his son's name? He hadn't mentioned it had he?

"How do you know my son's name?" he asked.

"Oh sorry, I don't think we've met yet. I work at the early childhood developmental center. My name's Belle" she replied reassuringly. "I work with your son everyday. He is actually quite the little genius, this one." She looked at his son affectionately, made some silly face that made him laugh that precious little laugh that he had. It takes him ages to make his son laugh and she did it with such ease.

He realized he was staring again a little too late. She had that confused look on her face again and asked him again if he was okay. "I'm fine. Just a bit tired I suppose, it's been a long morning" he said.

"I understand" she said, still gently rocking Ben back and forth in her arms, lulling him into what he was sure would be a deep slumber. "So why have I never seen you pick up Ben before? It's always that, ah what's her name? Ashley! I know she isn't your wife, unless you two just decide not to wear wedding bands. Even then she isn't Ben's real mother anyway. I'm assuming she is some sort of assistant, since you are big business man. Oh I'm sorry I tend to over analyze certain kinds of situations. I hope I'm not prying too much into your personal life."

He didn't know how it happened but he had already fallen for her. What did she say her name was? Belle, that's it. "Belle, right?" She nodded in confirmation. "Would you like to go get some lunch? If we can find an open table somewhere." She laughed at that. He couldn't tell if that was good or bad. Gods he was nervous.

She looked him over thoughtfully and responded, "I would love to." She placed Ben back down into his stroller as gently as she could, cautious not to wake him. Then they proceeded to walk along Main St. looking for a place where they could sit and have lunch. With a lot of luck they managed to find a table for two outside of a sandwich shop. "Why don't you wait here and save our table and I'll go get the food" she suggested.

"Alright" he agreed "but I'm paying, don't even bother arguing with me because you will not win." He grinned at her and it was a pleasant surprise to him to see a slight blush crawl across her features.

"Well," she started "you should know that I'm an arguer." She looked down at him and gave him the same grin he gave her. His heart skipped a beat and he took a large gulp despite the fact that his throat was obscenely dry. She noticed his discomfort and only smiled brighter. He was definitely in trouble. "How about we each just pay for our own? Can you handle that?" she gave him another flash of her brilliant smile and it was then that he decided she had to be his.

"Anthony" he said. "My name's Anthony. I wasn't sure if you knew that already. And yes, I can handle that." His heart was beating so fast at that moment he was surprised he was able to form such coherent sentences. It was like she had cast a spell over him.

"I did know," she admitted "but it's nice to be introduced in person, rather than by a sheet of paper. So what would you like me to order for you?" She asked him so sweetly he thought he would melt.

He made a thoughtful expression, rubbing his thumb along his chin. He looked up at her and said, "Why don't you decide for me? Take a guess at what I like. It could be like a game." He felt like a child again. Like a lovesick school boy. Trying as hard as he could to make her laugh again, deciding that it was one of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard. He was rewarded for his efforts as she laughed at his foolishness and made her way inside the little shop.

What felt like an eternity later she emerged with two large sandwiches and before handing him his, she decided to play a little game of her own. "Guess which one is yours" she said as she put both subs behind her back. She gave him a smile, encouraging him to make his decision.

She was so much like him, he thought. He again, tried to make her smile as he responded a little too much in character. "After much consideration I must choose the deliciously smelling sandwich you hold in your left hand." She made sure her facial expression was unreadable as she handed him his sandwich. She then sat down next to him and unwrapped her own. She picked it up and took a bite.

He watched her chew, and sip her drink as she swallowed. "You were correct. I am very impressed" she said with another perfect smile. "What made you choose left?" she asked.

"Well," he began "I always choose left. No matter what the circumstance because I figure what's the point in always being right." He paused for a moment to take a bite of his sandwich. She ordered him the pastrami, the same as what she ordered for herself. "What made you decide to order the both of us the same sandwich?" he asked.

She took another sip of her drink before answering, "It was pretty hectic in there, and I figured if you were willing to let a complete stranger decide what you would eat, you weren't very picky when it came to food. So I ordered two of the same to make those poor workers lives a little easier. The pastrami looked like the simplest thing to order off the menu." She gave him a shrug and continued to eat her sandwich.

He looked at her with astonishment. "So you ordered what you ordered out of, kindness?" he asked amazed.

"Yeah" she answered simply. "I think it's easier to be kind than to be mean. Being mean wastes so much more energy."

They ate the rest of their lunch getting to know one other in the most basic ways. When they continued their walk they shared a comfortable silence, simply enjoying one another's company. It wasn't until little Ben started to stir in his stroller that jack realized it was time for him to get home.

"I should probably be heading home, Ben is getting sick of the stroller, and it's a decent walk back to my house." Anthony was reluctant to excuse himself. He wanted to stay and walk with this girl more than anything in the whole world but he had a son, and that always put a huge damper on his love life.

She nodded, understanding completely, then offered to drive them home. "It'll start getting dark soon" she explained, "I don't want you two to be out on the streets with all these drunk idiots out here." She gave him a hopeful expression. It took him a moment to realize this was her way of saying I don't want to say goodbye. Since he didn't want to say goodbye either he accepted her offer, thanking God that his son's stroller could in fact double as a car seat.

It was a faster drive than the both of them thought and when the time came for them to part once again, neither was willing. So Anthony invited her inside for a drink instead. After he had put Ben to bed, he made his way downstairs to find that beautiful woman sitting at his kitchen table smiling up at him like he meant the world to her.

He needed to think of something to say. He wanted to be able to start a conversation without stammering for once. He opened his mouth ready to speak when he saw it. A giant hand shaped bruise on her upper arm. It had been hidden before by her jacket, but was now out and free for his eyes to see.

"What happened to your arm?" He tried his best to make his tone soothing and sympathetic but feared he didn't do as well as he thought. The second the words came out of his mouth her bright and cheerful expression turned to one of embarrassment and sorrow.

She grabbed her arm, trying to cover up the ghastly mark. When she spoke she made sure to keep her gaze set on the table, far away from Anthony's questioning eyes. "Umm... I.. I.. my ex he uh.. he liked to use his hands. I found out a little too late. He.. he still comes after me sometimes. He's mad at me.. be-because I wouldn't... I wouldn't..." she took in a shaky breath, "I wouldn't sleep with him. I'm afraid that he'll eventually get his wish though, even if it is by force." She gave Anthony a weak smile, trying to appear brave when in reality she was broken.

Anthony did the only thing he could think to do, hold her. He held her and she cried. He whispered words of kindness into her ear, as he gently stroked her silky hair. She clung to him like he was her savior. Her nails were digging into his shoulders but he could barely feel the sting. He wasn't letting ago until she was ready to let go.

Hours later, after Belle had calmed down a bit, had a drink of water and wiped away the tears and crawled right back into Anthony's awaiting arms; where Anthony had finally noticed she'd fallen asleep. Not wanting to wake her, but wanting her to be more comfortable than she probably was he carried her upstairs and laid her down on the bed, pulling the covers over her and softly kissing her on the forehead. As he was leaving for his own bedroom he felt a hand wrap around his wrist. He looked down at the sleeping beauty that he still couldn't believe was in his home and heard her whisper, "please don't leave me." His heart broke. How could he have fallen so hard for a girl he had met no more than ten hours ago? As he slid into bed with her and tentatively wrapped his arm around her waist, he allowed his muscles to relax as he felt her snuggle closer to him.

In the morning he opened his eyes to see no one but himself in the once warm bed. He moved over to the window and saw that her car was gone. No note, no goodbye, no nothing. It must have been a dream. A very realistic dream that he wish he'd never woken up from. He knew one thing for certain though, he would be the one picking up his son on Monday.


	2. I Love You More Than You Will Ever Know

It was a typical Monday. Classes in the morning and work in the afternoon. There was something about the day that caused Belle to completely lose focus. She daydreamed through her two morning classes and completely forgot about her escort while going to her second class. All she was thinking about was how wonderful Anthony had been and how insane she had been. She wanted nothing more than to apologize and she also never wanted to his face again because she was so embarrassed.

Work had went by quickly. There were only a few kids left waiting for their parents and Ben was one of them. She thought it odd because Ashley had always been here by three and it was nearly four now. When she heard the bell on the door ring the last thing she expected to see was Anthony. He was wearing a very formal suit, his hair looked a little tousled, and he had a smile on that made her knees melt. She was most definitely in trouble.

She made a move to go grab Ben but he stopped her. "Hey, I think we should talk." His voice was calm which only added to Belle's nerves. "This is it, he's going to tell me how crazy I am. I blew it. I can't believe I let this happen" she thought. Anthony guided her outside, his hand gently splayed across her back gave her chills she wasn't aware a simple touch could cause. "So what happened yesterday morning?" he asked.

She stared at him dumbfounded, that was not what she was expecting. "What do you mean?" she replied. "Shouldn't he be giving me the general it isn't you it's me crap right now?" she thought.

"What I mean is why did you leave?" She just kept staring at him in amazement so he continued. "I mean, I know that night was intense. I don't think either of us were expecting it. If it's about me sleeping next to you, I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable, I just thought it was what you wanted. Or if it's about me prying too much into your personal life, I promise we can take things slower. As slow as you want. I don't want to push you into anything, but I feel like this could work; you and me." He opened his mouth about to say what was sure to be more ridiculous nonsense when her lips found his.

She caught him by surprise. At first he didn't move at all, but when she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer he instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist. Their mouths opened and tongues began swirling in a dance of pure passion. One of Anthony's hands came up to play with Belle's hair. When he started to slowly massage her scalp she let out a soft, quiet moan. Their bodies were flush against each other. Not a pinch of space separated them, even as their lips reluctantly pulled apart.

Both of their breathing was heavy and ragged. Their foreheads leaned against each other, their eyes just starting to flutter open. Belle was the first to speak, "I didn't leave because of you." He waited for her to continue her explanation as he tried to regain control of his breathing. "I left because of me." she paused to take a breath and continued, "I left because I threw myself into your bed and dragged you with me after barely eight hours of knowing each other. After I rambled on and on about my abusive ex-boyfriend. I acted crazy. I was an emotional wreck and I thought I was doing you a favor by leaving." She paused to breathe again, "I knew you would be too kind to throw me out so I thought I would just do it for you."

She tilted her head up to look into his eyes, trying to read his expression when his lips met hers again. This time their kiss was less urgent. It was soft. It wasn't a kiss that asked, but gave instead. He cradled her face in his hands while still keeping his body pressed against hers. His tongue slowly traced her lower lip making her tremble. When he pulled away it was his turn to speak, "I should pick up Ben more often." She laughed at that which pleased him; he loved hearing her laugh. They walked back inside unaware of the pair of eyes that had been watching their encounter.

When Ben was packed and ready to go, Anthony decided to dive in and take a chance by inviting her to dinner tonight. He was pleasantly surprised when she said yes. She told him as soon as she got off work she would head on over to his house.

When the clock struck five Belle couldn't have had a bigger smile on her face. She practically ran outside, her escort there and waiting for her. She didn't bother to change, she went straight to her car and sped out of the parking lot and to Anthony's house as quickly as she could. When she arrived she noticed there was another car in the driveway. Wondering who else would be joining them for dinner, she walked up to the door and rang the bell. To her surprise it was an older woman who answered the door. Around the same age as her father she guessed. "You must be Belle" the woman said excitedly. "I'm Nancy it's nice to meet you." She smiled at Nancy and made her way into the house. "Who was this woman" she thought.

She heard little footsteps running down the hall and smiled at the sound. Ben ran straight into this mystery woman's awaiting arms. Anthony wasn't too far behind and she couldn't help but notice that her heartbeat started to beat rapidly as soon as she saw him. "Mother you should've left already. I don't want you bombarding Belle with the fifty questions I know you have up your sleeve." He grinned at his mother and she surrendered taking Ben and heading out the door.

"So that's your mother hmm?" Anthony nodded and rubbed his eyes as though he was frustrated. "You know I would have happily had dinner with you _and_ Ben. You didn't have to get rid of him for me." She smiled at him and he quickly shut the door and pulled her closer to him.

"My mom always takes Ben on Monday's. She likes to take him out to dinner so she can get a sundae. It's her cheating day and my son is her excuse. Then she takes him shopping so he can get a new toy. She spoils him more than I do I think." They both chuckled at that.

He hesitantly bent his head down intending to kiss her, but giving her the option of saying no; which she appreciated more than he'd ever be able to realize. The kiss quickly spun out of control as they made their way to the couch and collapsed on top of one another, never breaking away from each other. Belle had never felt emotion like this. Though his hands never roamed she could feel them everywhere. While she was beneath him, he never made her feel trapped. His lips felt like heaven on hers.

Her previous boyfriend, Gavin, never kissed her like this, or touched her like this. He had always been forceful and rough with her. Anthony was as gentle as a lamb. She felt all her nervousness leave her body the second she looked at him. There was not a single doubt in her mind. She was in love. While it seemed unbelievable and unrealistic, she knew it was true.

They were eventually able to break away from one another in order to eat a little something. The conversation flowed easily. They learned more and more about each other and before they knew it they were spending every second they could together. As she fell more in love with Anthony, she found she was also falling in love with Ben.

She would accompany them to the park on Sunday. They would all curl up on the couch and watch whatever silly cartoon seemed to be fascinating Ben at the moment. Her friends didn't understand the relationship one bit and had no problem telling her so. After the first couple of weeks she had just stopped talking to them altogether. She decided if her friends weren't happy for her when she was so happy, then they weren't her true friends.

Anthony started taking more and more time off of work. Whenever he was at work he would just act like a lovesick schoolboy. He was completely scatterbrained. All he cared about was how soon he could see Belle. How many seconds until he could hold her hand and kiss that spot on her neck that makes her moan in the most wonderful way. Before he knew it, it was time to leave. When he got to the care center though, Belle wasn't there. He asked where she was but the other women there claimed she hadn't come in today.

He started to panic. It was Friday and they had plans tonight. She was going to spend the entire weekend with him. If she wasn't going to be at work she would have called him. He left Ben at the center and made his way to her dorm. Paying some kid to pretend to be his brother so he could get past the front desk easily and run up to Belle's room.

Finding her door cracked open slightly terrified him. He pushed it open slowly whispering her name. When he saw her lying on the floor, curled up in a ball crying, he immediately knew what had happened. Closing the door he rushed to her side and pulled her into his arms. He knew that creep of an ex had been following her. He should have done more to protect her. He should have been there to save her from this; whatever _this _was. He wanted to say something, anything to make her stop hurting but he thought of nothing. Luckily for him she was the brave one and spoke first.

She never looked up from her spot against his chest, "Please don't hate me. Please. I couldn't bare it if you hated me." She was practically begging, and Anthony couldn't help but wonder why.

"Why would I hate you? What did that monster do to you?" he asked her.

"I was getting ready for work when he came in. He said he just wanted to talk but I knew he was lying. He said he knew about us and that he didn't want sex from me anymore because I was soiled by you. He was so angry. He shut the door and I told him to leave but he wouldn't listen and he hit me." she took a shaky breath and continued with her story. "He said I was lucky because what he wanted from me now was easier. Then he started taking his belt off and I knew... I knew what he wanted. I tried to get out but he was too strong and he held me down and forced me to... to... I didn't want to I swear! He was holding my head and I couldn't get away and I tried to stop it I did, I swear to you I did. But it happened and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Anthony." She was sobbing, almost painfully now. She had convinced herself that he would leave her after what had happened. The fact that she could still taste another man on her tongue made her tears sting even more.

Anthony didn't know what do. He was almost hurt that she would think so little of him. "How could she think I would leave? Doesn't she know how much I love her? Of course she doesn't, I haven't told her yet" he thought to himself. "Belle look at me," he started unsure where he was going to take this. Reluctantly she tilted her head up to meet his eyes. "I will never leave you" he said with earnest. "I've been in love with you since the moment I saw you. If you think that some soon to be dead pompous ass is going to drive me away then you need to form new opinions of me" he smiled at her, making sure she got the message. When she gave him a weak smile back, he knew she understood.

"We can press charges," he informed her. He spoke quietly now, "if you haven't... washed..."

She cut him off, "the first thing he did was shove a toothbrush and half a bottle of mouthwash down my throat." She looked down saddened, "there's no evidence there."

Anthony's anger was getting the better of him now. He felt as though steam was coming out of his ears. "I will make him pay for this! I promise you he will be sorry." Something in his eyes told her he meant it. Something in his usually calm and quiet eyes, turned dark and almost, evil. She reached her hand up and rested it on his cheek. She could see the darkness in his eyes turn back to light.

She smiled brightly at him then, finally realizing what he had said. He loved her! He actually loved her! She had never been so happy in her entire life. Even this day had been nothing but hell, she knew now that she would always have him to make everything alright again. She reached up and gave him a soft kiss. "I love you Anthony."


	3. The Key to His Heart

"_Your little boyfriend's not here to help you now Belle." Gavin stood over her and grabbed a huge chunk of her hair and pulled causing her mouth to open and giving him enough time to push past her lips. She thrashed and pushed and fought as hard as she could but she couldn't break free. "You're mine now bitch, and don't you forget it! I'll be back for more later." He winked at her. Slapped her hard across the face and walked out._

Belle shot up in bed tears running down her face as she gasped for breath. Her nightmares had been becoming more and more real, which caused her to spend more and more nights at Anthony's house. While she loved spending so much time him she hated the reason for their sleepovers. He was the only one he could calm her down and help her to sleep. His arms provided a comfort that she had never known, a comfort she felt could only be provided for her by him. Unfortunately she was alone tonight. She had an early class in the morning that she couldn't afford to be late to.

Anthony had made the request that when she stay in her own room to have her usual escort come to her door instead of waiting for her outside. She fought against it at first, saying it was going too far. But when she saw the pure look of desperation on his face she complied.

Her classes went by quickly and after grabbing some lunch she made her way to work. Her fellow employees noticed the change in her and Ben's relationship. They had become much closer and Belle didn't see anything wrong with that. Apparently not everyone felt the same way. When her boss, Emma, took her aside that day she was both shocked and disappointed in what she had to say.

"I know you have a relationship with the boys father, and it's safe to say that Ben has grown rather attached to you." Belle smiled, she had hoped the boy felt something for her. In all honesty, she was starting to feel like his mother. She'd cook in breakfast in the mornings when she was there. She would sometimes read him bedtime stories and help Anthony wash him. Ben wasn't the only one becoming attached.

"What's wrong about that? Shouldn't we have some kind of relationship since I am dating his father?" Belle was curious where this conversation was heading. She didn't like the look on Emma's face. It was a mixture of understanding, disappointment, and a tiny hint of what she guessed was disgust.

"Ben is a two year old boy without a mother figure in his life. You have been dating his father for what? A month? His attachment to you is understandable, but it is also dangerous. You aren't his mother Belle. You're his father's lover. You are a twenty year old college student still trying to figure out your life and Mr. Gold is a thirty old, harsh business man with a two year old son who doesn't need to be hurt anymore than he probably has been." She paused to take in Belle's pained expression. "I know I don't have any business digging into your personal life like this, but as your employer I must tell you that spending more time than necessary with that child here, at work, could give me cause to fire you."

Belle was still trying to soak all of this in. What the hell had just happened? She thought Emma was on her side. She'd never even thought of the possibility that her and Anthony might break up. They were so in love already that it seemed they'd already spent an eternity with each other. She already felt like Ben was hers. Was that so awful? She could get fired for spending a little extra time with her son. "Wait no, he's not my son!" she yelled at herself. God did that hurt to admit. He wasn't her son. Ben was not hers. The more she thought about it the angrier she became and before she knew what she was saying it was too late.

"I guess your right. But I'm curious as to how you know so much about children when you gave your own child up for adoption ten years ago." She practically screamed at her. After the words left her mouth she was sure she looked just as shocked as Emma did. Surprisingly, she wasn't fired. It was worse. She was forbidden to spend anytime at all with Ben. This was going to be difficult.

Throughout the rest of the afternoon Ben had tried to be with her. He had tugged at her leg and cried for her and it completely broke her heart. She needed this job though or else wouldn't be able to pay for school. She knew how angry and confused Ben was with her and at the end of the day when he was the only child left and she had clocked out she didn't blame him for refusing her affections. She knew Anthony was going to be late today, he had told her that he had a very important meeting, so she agreed to wait with Ben for him.

Since Ben was giving her the silent treatment and her co-worker Anna was still here, she left Ben with her and went in search of Emma. She found her in the office and didn't even give her a moment to acknowledge her presence.

"How dare you! How dare you make me torture that little boy. You think me loving him will harm him? What kind of twisted world do you live in? Let me make something very clear to you. I'm going to come into work tomorrow, I'm going to do my job which I'm pretty damn good at by the way and I will not ignore Ben! I love that boy and I don't care if you fire me, that will never change." Belle didn't wait for a response before she stormed out. She took Ben's hand in her own, swung his bag over her shoulder and brought him outside to play while they waited for his father.

The day had been too long. The meeting had been pointless and mind numbingly boring. He knew he was going to be late picking up his two favorite people today but not for the reasons he told Belle. It had been one month ago today that she had come into his life and he wanted to get her something special. He had already planned to give her her own house key since she was there practically every day anyway. He also was having a very special necklace made for her. It was gold naturally, three hearts intertwined of all different sizes. The largest was meant to be him, the smallest was Ben and the last was her. He also had the date they meant engraved on the back. He had put so much thought into it and he hoped that she loved it.

When he arrived at the center he saw Ben running around in circles on the grass occasionally tripping over himself while Belle sat against a tree watching him with a gleam of adoration in her eyes. He took a deep breath and approached her.

"Hey Belle" she jumped a little and he cursed himself, wishing he had approached her from where she could see him. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her after everything she had been through. But she just smiled up at him as if his hello had been the highlight of her day. What he didn't know was that it actually was.

She stood up so she could kiss him properly, wasting no time in wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him as close as possible. They broke away when they heard Ben making sounds of disapproval and after a little more playtime they went on their way.

They all made dinner together. A delicious meal of spaghetti and meatballs that had been requested by Ben. After they cleaned up and spent a little time snuggled together on the couch, Ben let out a very big yawn, signaling that it was time to put him to bed. While this activity was something they usually did together, Belle asked if she could do it by herself tonight. Anthony happily agreed, for this gave him time to set up all the romantic features of the evening.

Ben was rather easy to get to bed, he never put up a fight when trying to get his pajamas on and he would never try to run away when they actually put him in bed. He always loved the stories they read to him but tonight Belle had a very special story in mind.

She started off gently since she could still sense his anger toward her. "Ben, I'm sorry for not playing with you today. I really wanted to but my boss said that it would be a good idea to play with other people so you could make more friends." She stopped to make sure he was following her which he was and so she continued. "I didn't mean to make you sad and it's okay if you're mad at me, I'd be mad at me too. I just want you to know that it's never going to happen again, I promise." To her surprise he reached up and gave her a hug. She held him tight and thought this the perfect opportunity to let him know. "I love you Ben."

She laid him back down in bed and pulled the covers over him. He looked up at her with those big brown eyes and smiled. "Wuv you mama." Belle gasped lightly and her whole body clenched for a brief moment. He had never called her mama before. She was terrified to find out what Anthony would think about this but for right now she was the happiest she had been since... ever.

She turned off his lights and closed the door half way like usual and when she turned to the stairs she noticed they had been covered in rose petals. If it was possible her smile got even bigger as she practically ran down the stairs.

Anthony was waiting in the living room with two glasses of champagne, a plate of chocolate covered strawberries, and as soon he saw her he turned on the stereo which began to play very romantic music. He smiled at her, beckoning her to come closer and she went straight into his arms.

They swayed back and forth in time to the music. He nuzzled his face into her neck breathing her in. She smelt like roses and vanilla. His two new favorite scents. "What inspired you to do all of this?" she asked him.

"Well, one month ago today, my whole world got flipped upside down by this beautiful woman who I've been seeing. You'll get to meet her she'll be here any minute now." She slapped his chest at that last bit. "It was just a quip love." He pulled away from her and tucked some of her stray hairs behind her ear.

They sat close together on the couch as he poured the champagne. They clinked glasses and took a sip. Anthony set his glass down and reached in his jacket pocket to pull out her gifts. "Anthony you didn't have to get me anything. Really, I don't need gifts." He just ignored her as he handed her the first one.

She looked down at the small velvet box and knew that it was some type of jewelry, knowing Anthony it was very expensive jewelry. She opened the box to see the most beautiful necklace she had ever laid eyes on. She immediately turned around and pulled her hair to the side so he could fasten it on her and while he did he explained the significance of it. "The three hearts are meant to be us. Me, you and Ben. So we'll always be together."

She turned around and gave him the most passionate and breathtaking kiss he had ever experienced. She pulled him on top of her and wrapped her leg around his as she ran her hands up and down his back. He groaned at the amazing feeling. His desire was stirring and he didn't want to scare her. He knew that deep down she wasn't ready for that step in their relationship, and the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel pressured. So he pulled away, bringing her back into a sitting position.

"I have one more thing for you." This time he went for his pant pocket, pulling out another little velvet box and handing it to her.

"Anthony this is really too much. I can't accept all of this. I don't deserve all of it." He was almost appalled by the thought that she actually believed she was unworthy of it all.

"Don't ever say you don't deserve something. You deserve everything. I'd give you the entire universe if I could. You deserved to be worshiped. All you have to do is let me." He cupped her face in his hands and brought her in for a slow languid kiss. He then kissed her nose, her cheeks, her forehead and every other spot on her beautiful face.

She smiled at him, but he could see the little tear in her eye and he kissed that away as well. She knew she couldn't fight him on this, so she opened the box. When she saw the key, her heart skipped a beat. She knew it was to his house. It had to be. This wasn't just a gift. This was him telling her in every way how much he loved her. Now she knew that she was ready. Ready to give herself to him completely just as he had. She only hoped she would be brave enough to do it.

**Rating may bump up to M next chapter. Still haven't decided. :)**


	4. Lovemaking And Story Telling

Her eyes were glazed over with desire. She knew this was what she wanted and she also knew how afraid she was to go after it. But there was no way she could turn back now. She trusted him. She loved him. She wanted him to be her first and her only. Now how was she going to tell him? She started with a kiss. A searing kiss that left both of them nearly breathless. When she looked into his eyes she saw that his desire was shining as brightly as her own.

"Anthony" she practically moaned, "I want you." She hadn't meant to be so forward but it was too late for that now. She was too lost in her passion for him to care about anything else but this moment.

He stared at her, dumbfounded. "Belle, you don't know what you're saying. It must be the champagne or all the gifts, I can't... I'm perfectly content with just having you here. I don't need anything else." He was pleading with her to not want him. He knew that this would be her first time and he knew that he would have to hurt her. He couldn't hurt her, he just couldn't. After everything she'd been through he was supposed to be the one protecting her. He promised to keep her from harm and he had no intentions of breaking that promise.

"Anthony, I know that I said that I wanted to wait. I honestly thought I'd never be ready to take this step. But you... you make everything so wonderful. You turn my nightmares into dreams. You can make a bad day feel like the best day. Whenever you are near me I feel safe, and happier than I ever thought possible. I know that you think it's too soon because of everything that's happened to me, but the only way I can heal those wounds, is by being with you. So please, be with me?" Looking into her eyes and hearing how much she loved and desired him, he couldn't say no to anything she asked of him.

The next morning when they awoke, they were wrapped tightly in each others arms. Their legs were intertwined and there bodies were still connected. Belle was the first one to wake. She placed soft butterfly kisses onto his chest and anywhere else her mouth could reach.

She couldn't stop think how wonderful last night had been. He had been gentle with her like she knew he would and he would stop if he thought she was in any way uncomfortable. The feeling of his skin against hers was almost more than she was able to handle. She also found that his tongue was good for more than just kissing. She thought back to last night when a simple flick of it had electrified her entire body. She could already feel her desire for him growing again and she needed him to wake up so he could once again ease the tortuous ache between her thighs.

After her relentless kissing and touching Anthony finally opened his eyes. He seemed genuinely surprised that she there in his arms. "Good morning" she smiled at him giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"Great morning love" he a gave another kiss, a deeper kiss. "I thought for sure I was dreaming. I'm so happy you're real" he breathed out. There was a hint of fear in his voice. Like he thought she was going to evaporate into thin air if he loosened his grip on her in the slightest.

She could feel him hardening within her and she smiled brightly at him before capturing his mouth in a fierce kiss. This time their lovemaking was fast, hard, and desperate. Their bodies moving against each other frantically trying to find release. Anthony kept one hand on her waist while the other played with her breast, gently pinching her nipple with his thumb and index finger, while his mouth sucked on her neck producing yet another love bite for her to wear.

Belle was scratching at his back. Her legs wrapped around his waist pushing him in deeper. She was trying desperately not to scream in fear of Ben waking up and seeing them. When their thrusting became erratic and his fingers moved between their bodies to that spot that made her absolutely mad, she she knew she wouldn't be able to keep quiet. She leaned forward and bit into his shoulder trying to muffle her screams of pleasure. They came together. Their sweat slick bodies sliding against each other. Panting heavily. Placing kisses wherever their mouths could reach. They were completely lost in each other until they heard the distinctive sound of little feet running down the hallway. Belle had just managed to throw on Anthony's shirt before a very energetic Ben burst into the room attempting to climb onto the bed.

Anthony dropped Belle and Ben off at the school after breakfast. Belle brought Ben into the daycare and got him settled, then made her way to class. Since last night she hadn't stopped smiling. She had never been so happy or so relaxed in her entire life. Since it was Friday, she could look forward to a whole two days just being with her boys.

Just as her final class of the day was dismissed her phone rang. She had assumed it was Anthony so she didn't glance at the caller ID before answering. "Hey sweetie, what are you up to?"

"Belle?" It was her father. Why was he calling?

"Father? I'm sorry I thought.. never mind. So what's up?" She was trying to sound cheerful. The truth was she hadn't really spoken to her father since she broke up with Gavin. He had told her that she was crazy for leaving him and had kept inviting him over to their home for dinners that she didn't want to be a part of.

"Well, Gavin came into the shop the other day and..." she cut him off before he could go any further.

"Just stop! Is this why you called? To try and convince me to take him back? I can't believe this? Besides I've already found someone new someone better in fact and if you can't handle that..." now it was her turn to be cut off.

"That's enough young lady. I am your father and I deserve to be treated with some respect. Now if you'll please let me finish." Belle didn't say a word. She sat down on the nearest bench and waited for him to continue. "As I was saying, Gavin came into the shop and mentioned that you had a new boyfriend. I was a little hurt that you kept it from me but I can see why you would, so I forgive you for that. I want to meet this young man. You shall bring him to dinner tomorrow night. I want to see if he's good enough for you. Does six work for you?"

Belle sighed, she knew there was no way out of this. She knew it would be a disaster. That this dinner would be his way of trying to get her to go crawling back to her abusive ex. She was absolutely dreading it. She didn't want to have to put Anthony through this. She had already dragged him though all of her drama, but this, might end up pushing him too far. "Six works out fine. I'll see you then." With that she shut her phone and dragged her feet to work. Thinking of how much she would owe Anthony for sitting through this dinner.

Work was normal enough. She stood by her decision to ignore her boss' wishes and played with Ben even more than usual just to make her point. Every time she saw Emma glance her way she was sure she was going to get fired, but to her surprise it never happened. Anthony picked them up at five when she got off and drove them home.

Belle hadn't noticed how quiet she had been throughout supper. She was too busy thinking about all the ways she would kill her father if he ruined this for her. "Hey, is anybody home in there?" Anthony waved a hand in front of her face and she jumped in surprise.

"What? Oh I'm sorry I'm just... thinking" she said and then disappeared back into thought.

"What are you thinking about?" He had made his way behind her. Wrapping his arms around her waist pulling her close and trailing kisses along her jaw line. She moaned in appreciation and turned in his arms. Her hands found their way to his long brown hair and she rested her head against his shoulder.

"My father called me today. He wants to meet you and he's requested that we have dinner with him tomorrow. I'm trying to think of a way to get us out of it." She held him closer. She wanted to enjoy this while it lasted. She knew her father. She knew that he would pull every trick in the book to try and sabotage this relationship.

Anthony rubbed her back soothingly. He pressed his nose into her hair and inhaled her wondrous scent. "You never talk about you parents or any of your family. It doesn't seem like you have the best relationship with your father." He didn't ask for details. He didn't want to force her o talk about her family if she didn't want to. He just wanted to let her know that he was willing to listen if she changed her mind.

Belle pulled away. She grabbed his hand and lead him to the couch. He sat down first and she crawled into his lap. She took a deep breath and decided that he deserved to know everything. "My mother was about to be married when she met my father. She said that it was love at first sight. So she left her fiance and married my father instead. Her parents had a lot of money and they were ashamed that she wanted to be with my father. He owned a flower shop that his mother left him when she died and had very little money. They threatened to disown her but she didn't care."

"They had me shortly after. They started fighting when I was about five or six. She would leave sometimes. Sometimes for a night and sometimes for a week. Then on my tenth birthday, she came in my room and said that we were leaving. She said that I had to pack my things as fast as I could before papa woke up. I tried to get everything together but it took me too long and papa woke up and he got angry. He had never been that angry before. He started screaming at her and she left. She took the car and left me. About a week later we got a call from the police saying they found her body in the water by the docks. They said she killed herself. My father acted like she had never eve been there at all. Like she never even existed. He became so cold so distant. He's the reason I started dating Gavin. He said it would be good for me to have someone who would love me. I pretended like everything was normal between us but I knew that it never would be. He hated me and despite everything, I love him. He's my father how could I not?"

She had tears steadily rolling down her cheeks. Anthony tried to kiss them away but they wouldn't stop falling. "It was my fault" she choked out. "If I had just moved a little faster if I had just tried a little harder, she might not have died." She sobbed into his chest and he held her tight against him. She had fallen asleep an hour later and he carried her upstairs, changed her into one of his t-shirts and tucked her into bed. He crawled in next to her and wrapped his arms around her protectively, trying desperately not to cry for her. Thats not what she needed. She needed someone strong, a shoulder to cry on that wasn't easily collapsable. He would be that for her. At least he would try to be.

They were getting ready to leave for dinner. Anthony's mom had come over to babysit and Belle was just combing out her hair and he was fixing the collar of his jacket. He was already secretly dreading meeting her father but last nights confession and this morning's that, he only wanted to have dinner because he wants to break us up, made him dread their meeting even more. He had wanted to talk with her about last night and what she had told him but she said she didn't want to. That telling the story was hard enough. He accepted that, hoping that eventually she would trust him enough to let him in.

When Belle made her way downstairs, he couldn't help but stare. She was wearing extremely tight black pants with a gold, flowy, silk shirt with enough of the bottoms undone so he had a delicious view of her breasts when she bent over to adjust the strap on her boot. She had on the necklace he had given to her, which made him smile, and she had straightened her hair. She noticed his staring and gave him a seductive wink.

She knew that she was already torturing him. But she wanted him thoroughly seduced by the end of the evening. This was her way of apologizing for the dinner that hadn't even taken place yet. It was also her way of thanking him for last night. He was the first person she had ever told. He was the first person she ever trusted enough. She knew that he wanted to talk more about it but she just couldn't take that big of a step yet. She was hoping that the mind blowing sex they would have later would make up for everything else.

The drive into Storybrooke was short. He held her hand as he drove bringing it up to his lips to kiss every once in a while. She looked at him like They arrived at her father's apartment and he excitedly invited them in. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as they thought. He took their coats and lead them into the living room where a very smug looking Gavin sat on the couch sipping at some wine.


	5. Dinner Before Dessert

Anthony pulled Belle behind him protectively. She held his hand tightly. She opened her mouth to say something but she couldn't find it in her to speak. She was too shocked to do anything but stand there and even that was becoming difficult. Lucky for her, she didn't have to speak, she had Anthony there to help her.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Anthony's voice was verging on yelling, he was trying very hard to hold in his anger. Belle had never seen his dark side and he never wanted her to.

Gavin set his glass down on the coffee table and stood up. "Well I'm here on behalf of my darling little Belle. I'm worried that you aren't the right man for her, and after what I've told Mr. French, he's agreeing with me." He turned to Belle now who was shielding her body from his sight behind Anthony. "Belle come on, there's no need to be afraid, he can't hurt you anymore."

"_Me_ hurt her?!" Anthony was furious and there was no point in hiding it now, his rage was coming out whether he liked it or not. "You filthy, pathetic, disgusting excuse for a man! What the hell have you been telling her father?!" He became even more protective of his Belle now, angling his body so she was shielded from that pig Gavin and her idiot father.

Now it was Moe's turn to speak. "He's told me everything. He told me how he saw you groping her outside her place of work. How you forced her into your home. How he suspects you... you raped her!" Anthony was blown away by this man's stupidity. He had no idea what to say. He couldn't tell him what had happened between Belle and Gavin, that was her information to share and he wouldn't embarrass her any further than she already had been.

Belle moved out from behind him still gripping his hand so tight that her knuckles were white and his fingers were purple. She looked straight at Gavin when she found the courage to speak. "How dare you!" her voice was a little shakier than she had wanted it to be but she continued despite of it. "How dare you lie to my father about such things! You really are a monster aren't you? Should you tell him what you did to me or should I?"

"Belle I have no idea what you're talking about. If he's making you lie for him you don't have to..." Belle cut him off, this time with a stronger voice and a looser grip on her love's hand.

"Shut it Gavin! I'm tired of being afraid of you! I'm sick of walking around in fear that you'll jump out from somewhere and drag me back to that cage you kept me in." She looked to her father. "I'm sick of being afraid of you too. I was always afraid of disappointing you, of making choices that you wouldn't approve of. But it's my life! I decide my fate!"

"Anthony is the best thing that's ever happened to me. He loves me and I love him. He protects me and he listens to me. He doesn't try to control me. He loves me for me! And even after Gavin raped me he still loved me. He helped put the pieces back together. He loved me through everything, unlike you." She let out a huge sigh of relief. She had finally stood up to Gavin. She had protected the man she loved. She was actually proud of herself.

"Belle..." her father started. "How can you accuse Gain of harming you. He's been nothing but kind to the both of us. I'm ashamed of you."

Belle gasped. "How can I? How can you stand there and defend him?!" Now it was her turn to be furious. She knew they shouldn't have come. She let go of Anthony's hand and walked up to Gavin. "You beat me. You insulted me. You molested me. You raped me. You don't deserve to be alive. You're not a man. You're a coward." With that said she brought her hand back and slapped him hard across the face and then spat on him. She turned to walk back to Anthony so they could make their leave. Gavin had other plans. He straightened up lunged forward and locked her arm in a fierce grip. That's as far as he got. Anthony was on him in a second pounding him into the carpet.

Belle tried to pull him away. But it was no use She walked around so he could see her. "Anthony please. Please don't be like him." He stopped and looked up into her eyes. "You're a good man. Please, let's just go home." He looked back down to the bloodied Gavin and whispered one more threat before taking Belle's hand and leaving without so much as a goodbye.

When they had left, Gavin began to sit up and make his way to the couch. "Don't worry Moe, I'll protect her. I'll fix this I promise." Gavin stood and made his way to the bathroom to clean himself off.

Moe French just stood there looking thunderstruck. "Maybe... maybe we should call the police. We can have him arrested. Then Belle can be free of him." Gavin came out of the bathroom looking a little less ghastly.

"No we can't go to the authorities, that's exactly what he wants. He's trained Belle well. She'd lie for him and then I'd end up being seen as the bad guy. We have to be smart about this. Don't worry, we'll think of something."

On the drive home, Belle asked Anthony to pull over so they could talk. Claiming she didn't want to have this discussion around Ben. He put the car in park and turned it off. He was afraid of what she might say. He knew that he had gotten carried away with Gavin. He let his anger get the best of him and he was prepared to beg for her forgiveness.

There was an awkward moment of silence before Belle spoke. "Anthony? Anthony can you look at me?" He hadn't realized he'd been staring at the steering wheel. He lifted his head up slowly. His eyes met hers and she reached out her hand and affectionately stroked his cheek, giving him that smile, the smile that made his heart melt.

She opened her mouth to say something but before she could he blurted out his apology. "Belle I'm so sorry for how I acted tonight. I was just so angry and I was trying to protect you and I couldn't control myself. I'm so sorry, I know I just created even more problems between you and your father and then my beating that narcissistic pig, I just wanted to be strong for you but what I did was weak and you deserve better. I'm so sorry love, please, please forgive me." He took a deep breath in and awaited her response.

She shook her head and laughed at him. He looked confused, "why is she laughing?" he thought to himself. "You really are a silly man Anthony Gold." She gave him another smile. Now he was very confused. "I was beyond terrified when I noticed Gavin sitting there. I couldn't think, I couldn't move, I could hardly stand. But when I grabbed your hand and you pulled me behind you, I'd never felt more safe in my entire life." She was getting emotional, her eyes were glazed over with unshed tears. "And when he grabbed me and you started punching him, I'd never been more aroused." Now he saw that her eyes weren't glazed over with tears, they were glazed over with lust. "I want you so badly Anthony" she breathed out, her voice just above a whisper. There was only one thing he could do... give her what she wanted.

Her makeup was smeared, her hair was in knots, and there were now two buttons missing from her shirt. She looked like a raccoon with half an afro. As they sat in the driveway, she tried her best to comb through her hair with her fingers. She didn't care about the makeup she could blame that on crying. But she couldn't go inside the house looking like this when his mother was there. She would know. And that would just be to embarrassing to go through.

"You know my mother is a big girl and she probably already knows that we're intimate with each other. She's not that old fashioned. You have nothing to be ashamed of." She glared at him like she was gong to eat him alive. Not in a good way either.

She let out an aggravated sigh. "Anthony, she is your mother. I've met her all of four times. I can't walk in there looking like this. I look like I just had sex in the backseat of a car!" He tried to muffle his tiny laugh, but it was pointless.

"You did just have amazing sex in the backseat of a car." He tried to keep a straight face but he was having too much fun with this. He could honestly care less if his mother knew that he had just "done it".

She rolled her eyes at him. "I didn't say amazing" she said in a playful way. "I mean it was alright, not the best I've ever had but, not completely displeasing." He let out a hearty laugh and she laughed with him. She had only had sex two other times and they both happened with him. She quickly turned her attentions back to her hair still praying to God that it would magically comb itself out. She finally gave up and they made their way inside. She tried to hide behind him but he kept pushing her forward in front of him.

They walked into the kitchen and his mother was standing by the fridge. She took one glance at Belle before she blurted out, "I wonder what was taking so long, you pulled into the driveway nearly twenty minutes ago." Then she walked out with a bottle of water and went back into the living room where Ben was happily playing with his blocks.

"I'm gonna go clean up." Belle practically ran up the stairs and went right to the bathroom. Anthony laughed and joined his mother in the living room. Ben was so mesmerized by his blocks that he didn't even notice his father enter the room.

"So, how was the dinner?" His mother smirked at him and he gave her a light shove.

"Dinner was awful. I almost killed her ex. And if she hadn't stopped me I probably would've moved onto her father." He put his head in his hands. "She's just been through so much and all I want to do is protect her. I just wish I could take all the pain away."

She grabbed his chin and lifted his head up. "I have one piece of advice for you." He urged her to go on. "She's special. I never thought I would meet a girl who I thought deserved you. She looks at you like you're her entire universe. My advice is, don't let her go." She got up from the couch gave Ben a kiss on the head and made her way to the door. "I'd like to spend some time with her. If she doesn't mind of course. Tell her it would be like a girls night. Mention it to her for me. Have her call me if she's interested." He told her that he would and gave her kiss on the cheek and watched her drive away.

He locked the door and made his way back to the living room. He stopped in the doorway, leaning against the wall as he watched Belle play with his son. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever witnessed. He knew he would never let her go. He just hoped that she'd let him hang on.


	6. Mothers

The next few weeks were nothing but bliss. Christmas break was just around the corner and Belle was busy cramming for exams. She spent most of that final week in the library. She had a secluded little table in the corner where she would bury her nose in a book and vigorously take notes. There were a couple afternoons when Anthony would bring her lunch and they would sit at her little table in a comfortable silence. He took most of her stress away and she thanked him for that every night when they laid in bed wrapped up in the blankets and each other.

She wasn't actually all that worried for her exams. She _was _worried about what to get Anthony for Christmas. He had given her so much and she had no idea what he wanted. When she asked him he told her that he didn't want or need anything, which she had anticipated. But she couldn't get him nothing. They had gone shopping for Ben's presents together so he was taken care of, but she was in desperate need of help picking out Anthony's gift. Then she got an idea. She pulled out her phone and searched through her contacts until she found the right one.

One ring. Two rings. And an answer. "Hello?" said the voice on the other end.

"Hi, Mrs. Gold? It's Belle."

"Oh Belle it's so nice to hear from you. How have you been?"

Belle smiled, this woman was starting to grow on her. They had gone out together a couple of times now, some shopping, chick flicks, and she really was starting to feel like a mother to her. "I've been very well, thank you. I actually have a favor to ask of you if it won't be too much trouble that is."

"Oh sweetie you know you can ask me anything." Nancy could see where this was headed. She had been expecting it. After all, her son had always been difficult to shop for.

"Well, I was wondering if you could maybe help me with Anthony's Christmas gift. I just have no idea what he wants or needs and he naturally won't tell me anything. I know he's already bought me practically one thousand presents which I'm sure are all perfect and I don't have a lot of money so the one thing I can get him needs to be beyond perfect and I'm rambling. I'm sorry I do that a lot." Belle smiled sheepishly into the phone.

Nancy let out a soft laugh. "This girl really has it bad" she thought to herself. "Of course I'll help you dear. How about we go tonight I can come pick you up, I know of a few stores where we'll manage to find something he'll love."

"Oh thank you. Thank you so much. You really have no idea how much this means to me." They said their goodbyes and Nancy scheduled to pick her up from work at 4:30. She called Anthony to tell him her plans with his mother so he wouldn't panic when he came to pick up Ben and notice that she wasn't there.

Time had passed quicker than usual and before Belle knew it, her and Nancy were on their way to a small shop that Nancy had said would have something Anthony would appreciate. They soon pulled up to the store and when Belle saw what kind of store this was, she could do nothing but blush. "Umm Mrs. Gold? This is a lingerie store." She made no move to look at the woman. She was too embarrassed. More embarrassed than she was when they came back from dinner with her father.

"Yes it is. And Mrs. Gold is so formal, call me Nancy or mom or almost anything else. Now come on, I'm sure there are a dozen little outfits for you to try on." Belle gave her a skeptical look. "Trust me Belle, all he wants for Christmas, is you." With that she stepped out of the car and walked into the store. Belle followed, with the intention of bringing Nancy back to the car so they could find a store that's most popular item wasn't edible underwear.

"Nancy please. I can't... I can't do this. Even if I wanted to I couldn't. I can't afford a single thing in here. Please can we go to a different store." Belle was slightly heartbroken. As soon as she walked in she saw it. The perfect gift. She knew Anthony wasn't really a fan of material things. But this... this azure blue corset with beautiful flower detail stitched in gold, with a golden bow between the breasts and two at the hips. She would look like a present. It also came with sheer, gold robe with a blue sash. It was her size! She had the perfect shoes to match. She was so busy planning the night out in her head that the price didn't even sting until after a good twenty seconds of staring at it. She knew she shouldn't have come in here.

Nancy was soon at her side. "Well that is perfect isn't it. Why don't you try it on? I'll go get someone to open up a dressing room for you." Belle grabbed her arm.

"No. I don't want to fall in love with something I can't have. I have about fifty dollars in my pocket and this" she said gesturing to the mannequin, "this is one hundred and twenty-five dollars. Please, can we just go to a store that I can at least afford?" Belle was desperate to get out of there. She knew she would never be able to spoil her love like he spoils her, but being in this store made that fact all the more painful.

Nancy looked to her with saddened eyes. "Anthony really found the perfect girl" she thought. This was going to be tougher than she thought. "Belle, dear, I have no intention of leaving this store empty-handed. Nor do I have any intention of allowing you to pay. Think of it as an early Christmas present." Belle's mouth hung open in both surprise and gratitude.

"No, no I can't accept that. It's just too much to ask for. I wouldn't feel right, I need to pay for his gift myself." Belle pleaded with her, though she knew she would end up losing this fight.

"Come on dear, indulge an old woman. Just try it on. Then we can find another store for you to look through. I promise." She flagged down one of the store attendants. Belle stepped into the dressing room looking like a shy, and somewhat innocent college student and stepped out looking like a se goddess. She looked at herself in the mirror and truly admired herself for the first time. "You'll have him ripping that off you within seconds dear." The two women laughed and after much debate about Belle at least paying what she could, They walked out of the store with the corset and Belle's fifty dollars.

They browsed through a variety of other stores. But it was in a little pawn shop that she found a first edition copy of one of Anthony's favorite poets, Robert Burns. After much haggling and begging she managed to sweet talk the owner into letting her buy the nearly three hundred dollar book for fifty dollars.

Christmas was over, the piles of wrapping paper were thrown away, the food had been eaten and Ben had finally fallen asleep with most of his new toys tucked into bed with him. And now Anthony was laid out on the couch with Belle acting as his blanket, one hand absent-mindedly running through her curls while the other was simply rested upon her waist while they watched _It's A Wonderful Life_. He had showered her with beautiful jewels and old leather-bound copies of her favorite books. He loved the book she'd gotten him as well, but the sexy outfit Nancy had bought for her was most definitely their favorite gift of them all.

They made love in almost every room in the house. Belle had a new secret weapon. She had to remember to thank Nancy again. When the clock struck midnight and the movie had ended, Anthony sat up with Belle still in his lap, he then got up and reached under the tree for the last present that laid there. He handed it to Belle and she gave him a disapproving look. He had already given her so much, what more could he possibly give her? He pulled her into his lap once more and began explaining his gift.

"I know about your little secret." She gave him a questioning look, not sure where this was going. "That Ben calls you mama when I'm not around." She looked guilty no and he gave her a wicked smile. "Well I had a little talk with Ben and it seems like he wants you to be his mother." He motioned for her to start unwrapping the gift. "Now I don't want you to freak out, I'm not trying to pressure you into anything and I know that we've only been dating for a couple of months but I think we both have that feeling that what we have is so much more than lovers." She opened the box to find a few pieces of paper. Upon further inspection she discovered that they were adoption papers. Her free hand covered her mouth and she could already feel a few tear drops fall from her eyes. "I know that it's a lot to ask, and I'm really not even asking, I just... wanted you to know that you could if you wanted to. That I'd want you to be his mother." Belle said nothing, only stared at the shaking papers in her hands. "I knew this would happen, I wasn't even going to give this to you. I knew I was moving too fast. Please, let's just forget this and move on like everything's normal and like I never gave these papers to you. I'm sorry I ruined everything." He cradled his head in his hands. This was it, he was going to lose her.

He felt her hands on his shoulders, she was pushing him back, trying to get him to lie down. He complied, but stared at her with confusion. The expression on her face gave absolutely nothing away. She crawled up his body and began with his neck. She decided to make it her mission to kiss, lick, and bite every inch of his skin. He groaned at her ministrations. He hadn't lost her. She was still here, and she was kissing him. He felt her lips all over his body.

He was always the one making sure that her pleasure came first. This was her chance to make him feel what he makes her feel. She kissed him until she knew he had gone completely mad. So she straddled him and never breaking eye contact, sunk down onto him as slowly as her body was willing to go. When he was completely sheathed inside her she took in a sharp breath. In all the times they had had sex, she had never felt more close to him in this moment. They rocked against each other. The build of pleasure gradually increasing. When they found their release and Belle collapsed onto his chest, she knew that she didn't have to say anything, that he knew how she felt about his last gift. She was going to be Ben's mother.


	7. Surprise Surprise

It had been five months. Everything was practically perfect. Belle made the decision to not adopt Ben until her and Anthony had been together for at least a year. Because while she loved both of them to pieces, it was just too soon to take that big of a step. Ben was beginning to find his voice. He almost never stopped talking. He was very open about calling Belle mama. Not like she minded. She wasn't his mother legally yet, but she was in every other way. She began spending more and more time with him. Just the two of them. They had formed a very strong connection that was, at this point, unbreakable.

Belle was trying to reach out to her father. She didn't want them to be completely cut off from each other. While he had done nothing but try and control her her entire life, making all sorts of wrong choices, he was still her father and that was something that she couldn't change. But Moe wanted nothing to do with her now that he knew about Ben. He called her the day he found out and did nothing but scream at her. Most of what he said didn't phase her but his last words can't help but linger in the back of her mind.

"This is just your sick desire to play house. You are a stupid stupid girl, just like your mother! That boys real mom will come along one day and it will be like you never even existed."

His voice had so much venom in it that she believed he had actually poisoned her. She spent that night in Ben's room, sitting on the edge of his bed, playing with his hair and whispering to him how lucky he was to have a father like Anthony, and how no matter what her own father might do, she would always be there for him. She would always fight to be with them.

Belle's junior year of college had come to a close. She had enough credits now to only have to take a few summer courses in order for her to graduate. It was late May and she would start her summer courses in the middle of June. That gave her a little less than a month to spend as much time with her boys without having to worry about anything else.

But of course, with the luck she had, it was impossible for anything to be worry free. She hadn't thought much of it. Being a few days late was nothing to stress over. But then a few days turned into a couple of weeks and when she woke up nauseous that morning, she had a bad feeling that she was in a lot of trouble.

It was a Tuesday when she bought the test. She had called Nancy and asked if she could watch Ben because she had a "meeting" with her advisor for school. She hated lying to the woman, especially since she had become a sort of mother figure for her. She went straight to the bathroom when she got home. She bought three different tests to be sure. She spent at least twenty minutes in the bathroom just trying to build up the nerve to look at the results. She reached out a shaky hand to the grab the first test. Her eyes were shut tightly and she let out a silent prayer that it wouldn't say what she already knew. She opened her eyes and saw the tiny pink plus sign staring back at her. She quickly grabbed the second test, it was negative. She let out a frustrated sigh. The third test was positive. That's two out of three. She was pregnant. Her hands immediately dropped to her stomach. She thought she could almost feel the new life stirring inside her. She let a smile creep upon her face. Why shouldn't he be happy about this? This is her baby! Her and Anthony's baby. Anthony. He would be happy about this wouldn't he? Oh God, what if he didn't want it? What if he wasn't ready to have another baby? They were still only boyfriend and girlfriend. They hadn't even been going out for a year now. Her thoughts were interrupted by the soft knock on the door. "Belle, are you alright in there? You've been in there an awfully long time. Belle?" Nancy's voice was laced with concern.

"Say something Belle!" she screamed at herself. Trying to form a coherent sentence at this moment in time was one of the most difficult tasks she'd ever had before. "Y-yes. I'll be right out." With that she quickly wrapped up the empty boxes and stuffed them in the trash. She had to keep herself from blurting this out to Nancy. Anthony had to be the first to know. Or maybe Ben would be easier to talk to? She opened the door and apparently she'd been crying because Nancy was beyond concerned.

"My God what happened? Was your meeting that awful? Are they not letting you take your summer courses? Why on Earth are you so upset?" She had to tell her something. Should she just tell her the truth? Belle was at war with herself. She was so conflicted, it was making her cry even more. Before she even knew what she was doing it happened.

"I'm pregnant." She said it bluntly, "I don't know what to do. What if Anthony doesn't want it? How am I gonna tell him? I don't know what I'd do if I lost him." Now she was shaking. The possibility of losing him hadn't popped into her head before. She would have to go back to her father, and that would mean... she'd have to give up the baby. Nancy pulled her into her arms and held onto her.

"Belle, do you have any idea how much my son loves you?" She shook her head, he told her a thousand times a day how much she meant to him. "And do you really think that he's the type of man to leave a woman in trouble? Especially if the woman is you?! He's going to be thrilled. I know that you're young and probably scared out of your mind, and I know this didn't come at the best time but my son loves you and I know you love him just as much. You'll make it work. I know you'll both figure everything out together." She pulled away placing both her hands on Belle's shoulders looking at her face for an expression. She was pleased to see that the tears had stopped and Belle was stopping to freak out. "And this might finally push him into putting that ring on your finger." Belle laughed at that. And Nancy knew that she needed time alone to sort through her thoughts before Anthony got home so she said goodbye to her and Ben and headed home.

Ben was busy playing with his building blocks in the living room when Anthony got home. Belle thought it would be best if she just told him right away. No waiting for the right moment or setting up some kind of romantic setting. Ben was preoccupied so they were as good as alone anyway. She dragged him through the house and into the den. She pulled him into a deep kiss, because if the news she was about to deliver scared him off then at least she'd get that last kiss. They pulled away breathless and she said it. "I'm pregnant."

Anthony's brain turned on again in a flash. "Your pregnant?" Belle nodded her head and waited for him to say something. It was only when Belle started crying did he realize how long a pause he had taken. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back. "Oh sweetheart, don't cry, I'm sorry you just surprised me." Belle pulled back a little to look at him.

"So, you're happy?" Belle asked hopefully.

Anthony smiled at her, "Of course I am. I already love it. It's a part of you. I can already picture a little girl with big blue eyes and wavy chestnut hair running down the hallway." he laughed a little as his imagination ran away with him. He pushed a stray piece of hair off of Belle's face and leaned down to kiss her, but was interrupted by a knock on the door and a small voice asking for mama.

Belle wiped away the remainder of her tears and they made their way to the kitchen to start dinner. When they told Ben he was going to have a little brother or sister, he was so excited that he ran as fast as he could up to his room, brought down his favorite lion stuffed animal and handed it to Belle. "For baby" he said with a huge grin on his face. He jumped into her lap and she held him tightly, kissing the top of his head and giving him back his little lion. "You keep your lion Ben, the baby's gonna get it's own toys just like you did. But that was very sweet of you to give up your favorite stuffed animal. You're a very good boy Ben, you're gonna be such a good big brother." Ben blushed and suddenly became very shy and he buried his head into the crook of her neck. Belle looked up to Anthony and they shared a knowing look. It was time to go through with the adoption.

Gavin couldn't believe what he had seen. He had seen Belle at the store and he saw what she bought. Belle thought she was pregnant, which meant she probably was. How could she do this to him? It was time to stop this madness. Belle belonged with him, not that loser she claimed to be in love with. He needed to find that man's weakness. He needed to expose his secrets, make him completely undesirable to Belle. First things first he needed to tell her father. Moe would take care of the pregnancy problem.

At Moe's apartment, plates were being thrown lamps were being knocked over and the man himself had turned almost purple from screaming. "How could she let this happen?! How could she throw her entire life away like this?! That bastard child of hers can't be born! I won't allow it!"

"I completely agree with you Mr. French," Gavin was thrilled by his reaction, it was better than he expected. "I say we go over there right now and put an end to this. We need to rectify this problem before it's too late."

"Yes. Yes we do, let's go now before it's too late." Moe left the apartment and made his way to the car, Gavin followed with an evil kind of smirk on his face. This would break her at least a little. She can't handle much more of her father's disappointment. Hopefully that lover of hers won't be able to handle crazy old Maurice either.

Belle and Anthony were washing the dishes, well trying to wash the dishes. Anthony had Belle wrapped up in his arms while leaving a trail of open-mouthed kisses along he neck and jawline. She had the back of her head resting against his shoulder giving him better access. "Remind me to never wash dishes with you again. You're too much of a distraction." She giggled as he began to tickle her sides. She gave up on the plate she'd been trying to wash for the past ten minutes and turned around in his arms, wrapping her hands around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss.

As there sweet displays of affection in the kitchen were carrying on, Gavin and Moe had made there way to the front door. Unluckily for the two lovers, it was unlocked. Moe burst through the door screaming out his daughter's name. He ran into the living room to find one very terrified toddler. "You. This is all your fault isn't it. You gave her the idea! Didn't you?!" Moe was screaming at the poor two year old boy. He had his hand raised as if he was about to strike the child. He hadn't even noticed that the happy couple had entered the room until Belle was in front of him scooping up poor Ben in her arms and protecting him from her father's blow. He hit her so hard she saw stars. If he had intended on hitting Ben with the same fierceness she wasn't sure if he could have survived it. She didn't move, she kept Ben covered underneath her and waited for the next hit. "Mama!" Ben screamed.

Moe stepped back in horror. He was about to hit a child. An innocent child, who probably doesn't even know how to spell his own name yet. "Belle... Belle I... I"

"You what father?!" Belle screamed at him, she maneuvered herself so that she was able to look him in the eye and shield Ben at the same time. "You were about to hit a child! My child!" She looked at him with disgust. "I'm guessing your little spy over there hiding behind the wall told you that I'm pregnant, though I'm not sure how he found out." She looked over her father. His hands were shaking, his eyes were filled with regret. It was safe to stand. She held Ben in her arms and he hid in her hair, with good reason. "You decided to shut me out of your life. It was your decision, not mine. You have no right to barge into my house and threaten my family. You are a pathetic man. You don't control me, this is my life! I'm in love with Anthony, I'm adopting Ben, and I'm having this baby. And there's nothing you can do to stop any of it." Anthony finally made it over to her side, wrapping a protective arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. "I have great reason to call the police and have you arrested." Moe's eyes lost their focus on the floor and found new focus on hers. "But... I have faith that you can change. I believe that you can be a better man. Despite everything you've done to me, to us, I'm giving you one last chance. Don't call, don't write, don't come here, stay out of my life, because it's no longer any of your business. Now get out before I change my mind."

The two left without another word. Belle looked up at Anthony and started crying. She held Ben tighter and he returned the sentiment. "He could have..." her sentence broke off, too devastating to complete.

"I know... I know..." he said as he hugged his family. "He hurt you instead. If I ever see him anywhere near you again I'm going to kill him." He kissed the top of her head. "I love you so much Belle. The way you protected Ben... It made me realize just how truly perfect you are. I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you." She cried harder at that, but this time, her tears were made from happiness.


	8. Not The Only One With A Past

It was late September, Ben's birthday was fast approaching. Belle was more excited for it than Ben was. This was his first birthday she would spend with him. Since the adoption had been finalized during the month of July, it would also be the first real important day they'd spend as mother and son. and Belle's pregnancy was progressing beautifully. She had little to no morning sickness, and the only weird craving she seemed to have was pickle juice. Not pickles, just the juice. Her sexual appetite had peaked as well. She had finished all of her summer courses and now had her Bachelor's degree in early childhood development. Her baby bump was just starting to show and she was a little self conscious at first, but then Anthony nipped that bit of self doubt right in the butt. He would spend hours at a time just kissing her growing tummy.

There was a big part of Belle that wanted to be married before she had the baby or at least engaged. But Anthony made no move to ask her and that made her worry. She knew that she was being crazy, but with the extra hormones running wild through her body she was allowed to be a little crazy.

The day of Ben's birthday party was hectic. Anthony was out and about running a few last minute errands. Balloons, plates and silverware, and a few more presents, because God knows the boy was spoiled. While he was out Belle and Nancy were busy hanging all of the decorations. Since Ben loved animals so much, they decided to surprise him with a petting zoo. The animals had arrived at noon and the guests were meant to arrive at one. They wanted Ben to be able to have a little time alone with his present. There were sheep and goats and even a miniature pony.

When everyone had arrived and the party had begun Ben's smile could have lit up the entire town of Storybrooke. His parents stood off to the side as they watched their boy show all of his friends from the daycare the animals. Belle wrapped her arms around Anthony's waist and gave him a little squeeze. "I'm glad we could make him so happy." She sighed contentedly against his chest.

Anthony looked down at her, "Did I tell you how beautiful you looked today?" She giggled and shook her head. "Really? Well you are breath-taking. When did you get that dress?" He kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer to him.

"Well, actually, your mother bought it for me. It was a early baby shower gift. It's stretchy enough to last me through the next couple months." She looked up at him with a smile. "Have I told you today that I love you?"

He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. "Yes you have, twice actually but I wouldn't oppose to hearing it again." He snuck in another chaste kiss, just before Ben ran over and practically leaped into his arms.

"Cake!" said the excited, now three year old. "I want cake papa!"

"I guess it's time for cake then. Belle why don't you go get the cake from the kitchen, and I'll set everything up out here." Belle tousled up Ben's hair as he giggled and made her way inside. She grabbed the cake from the fridge and was looking for the candles when a woman she had never seen before walked through the front door.

"Excuse me, are here for the party? I don't believe we've met." Belle walked around the counter to greet the woman. "I'm Belle." Belle stuck out her hand for the woman to shake but she ignored it.

"Where's Anthony? I need to speak with him about something important." There was a sharp tone to her voice, almost like a razor blade. "Who are you?" She acted as if Belle hadn't even spoken a word yet.

"My name's Belle, I'm Anthony's girlfriend. What's so important that you couldn't wait until after the party to talk to him about?" Belle was becoming very agitated with this woman. Who the hell was she?

"Why I'm here doesn't concern you." Her eyes roamed over Belle's body. "Looks like he got you in trouble too. I'm not surprised. He was always good at making mistakes." Belle was taken aback by her comment.

"I'm sorry, but who are you? Am I going to get a name or will I have to guess?" Belle's hands moved to her hips as she blocked the hallway that lead to the backyard.

"I'm Ben's mother. Now move out of my way little girl." That she wasn't expecting. Ben's birth mother. What was she going to do now? She couldn't let her get to the party. Ben was so happy, his special day didn't need to be ruined by this woman's presence. And besides, she wasn't his mother anymore, Belle was.

Belle stood her ground. "You aren't his mother anymore. You gave up that right to him when you left. I'm his mother now and I don't think it wise for you to be here." There, that would tell her. Or maybe not. If Belle thought the woman looked cross before, she was positively livid now.

"You. You think you're his mother?! What would make you think that? Because that bastard got you knocked up so that automatically makes you part of the family? Tell me something sweetie, did he ask you to marry him?" Belle frowned, he hadn't, maybe there was a reason. "That's what I thought. So please, get out of my way, so I can see _my _son." Belle still didn't move, the fact that Anthony hadn't proposed to her, Ben was still her son. She adopted him, that makes him hers. Hers to love and protect from this vile woman.

"No." Belle wasn't giving up this fight. "Ben is my son. I can show you the adoption papers if you'd like. It was finalized in July. He is mine, not yours, and I'm not letting you anywhere near him." Belle was pleased with herself. She would have been even more elated had it not been for the look on this woman's face.

"You... you adopted him?" She looked about ready to cry. Belle suddenly felt sorry for her and regretted her forceful tone. She was about to attempt and comfort the woman when she heard someone coming up behind her.

"Yes she did." Anthony said in a cold and cruel voice. "Why do you suddenly care about him? After three years, why would decide to try and come into his life?" Anthony impatiently waited for her answer. "Well!?"

"I... There hasn't been a day that goes by that I don't think about him. I know I gave up my parental rights when he was born, but I've regretted it. I just want to see him, you don't have to introduce me, I just want to look at him." She looked like she was ready to get on her hands and knees to beg him to grant her this small wish.

Belle looked to Anthony, she knew he would say no, so she took matters into her own hands. "You can see him." Anthony was shooting death glares at her but she ignored them. "You'll stay as far away from him as you can and you'll just watch. You have ten minutes. Nothing more nothing less." She nodded eagerly and thanked Belle over and over. It was hard to believe that this was the same woman. Belle went to get the cake that had been long forgotten in the kitchen. She managed to catch a bit of Anthony's threat.

"I swear to God Myranda, if you try any of our old tricks, if you hurt my family, you won't live long enough to regret it." He had a death grip on her arm that would surely bruise. His eyes looked almost black and they were filled with hatred. He looked the same way when he had been beating Gavin. His dark side came out when he was being protective. Something Belle found both terrifying and arousing.

They brought the cake outside and sang happy birthday. Myranda watched from a long distance, her eyes never faltering from Ben. Ben had started to open his presents, when Belle noticed Myranda leaving. It had been ten minutes, but it felt wrong to not at least see her out. Belle caught her as she walked into the house. "I'm sorry about Anthony. But you can see where he's coming from can't you? I know I'll be getting an earful later about letting you stay for as long as you did." Belle knew this conversation was extremely awkward for both of them.

"Yes, well, I suppose it is my fault. I was the one that left. I lost my chance with him a long time ago. Thank you for..." The last of her sentence broke off. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Belle turned to see what she was staring at. It was Ben, running over with a giant stuffed elephant.

"Mama, mama look what I got!" Ben held up his arms ready to be lifted into her arms. Belle was ready to catch him, but instead, Myranda had moved in front of her and lifted Ben into her own arms. Ben instantly began struggling against her. He was a relatively shy boy anyway and this woman wasn't his intended target. "Mama, mama!" he cried out desperately. Belle practically had to pry him out of Myranda's arms. He hid his face in her hair and clung to Belle for dear life, afraid that someone else was going to try and take him away.

"I think it'd be best if you leave now." Myranda nodded and turned to leave. "And I don't think it's best if you return." That wasn't something Belle had wanted to add, but after what just happened, she knew it was necessary. Myranda practically ran out, Belle guessed Anthony was somewhere behind her reminding his ex of his threat from earlier.

The party continued on as if nothing had happened. Ben received tons of presents, mostly stuffed animals, that were all tucked in bed with him now. Nancy was the last to leave insisting that she help clean the place up. Belle must not have been hiding her inner conflicts too well because Nancy called her out on it almost immediately.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong or am I going to have to drag it out of you?" Belle gave her a weary smile. "It's not the baby is it?" Nancy asked with concern.

"No! No the baby's fine." Belle felt guilty that she had made this wonderful woman fear something so awful. "It's just... nothing, it's silly. Probably just the hormones." Nancy gave her a look that said 'honey, please, hormones are the lamest excuse in the book.' Belle sighed, "It was just something the Myranda said. It's... it's been bothering me, even before she said it."

"Well, what is it that's got you so upset? You know you can tell me anything, don't you?" She took Belle's hands in her own, stopping the cleaning for a moment. "I do feel like a mother to you. You're just as much my child as Anthony is. That's something I don't want you to forget." Belle felt a single tear roll down her cheek. She had never felt so touched in all her life.

"Okay, but remember I warned you that it was silly." Nancy nodded her head to say she understood and urged Belle on to proceed. "She asked me, if Anthony had proposed to me, and he hasn't. I don't know.. I guess I thought that he would've asked me by now. I mean we are having a child together, and I'd like to be at least engaged before she's born, or he. Has he mentioned anything to you? If he has I wouldn't want you to tell me but I just want to know if he even plans on marrying me. I know that he wants to be with me and that should be enough, but I guess it isn't. I told you it was silly."

Nancy gave Belle's hands a light squeeze. "It's not silly dear. It is laughable though that you could think he wouldn't want to marry you." Belle's face regained a little more hope. "I think he's just scared. I mean look how his last engagement turned out."

"Yes but I'm not her! She didn't love him, I do! That makes all the difference in the world." Belle breathed out in frustration.

"He hasn't told you the whole story then has he?" Belle shook her head.

"I didn't even know what her name was or what she looked like until today. I'd tried asking him about her but he said it was just something he never talked about. He said it was too painful, and I accepted that." Belle took her hands back and began cleaning again, trying to distract herself from the thought of Anthony keeping secrets from her. After all, he knew everything about her. Every horrible detail that she vowed long ago to never share. "Maybe he doesn't love me as much as I thought he did." Her voice cracked at the end of the thought and she began to cry. "Damn hormones!" she cursed and she kept on cleaning. Nancy put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked over to the door to see her son watching the heartbreaking scene.

'She thinks I don't love her.' he thought to himself. 'I'm such an idiot! Of course she'd be expecting me to propose. I should have done it sooner.' He walked back through the house, into his office and began digging though one of his desk drawers, eventually pulling out a small velvet box. He flipped it open and stared at it's contents. The ring was simple, a gold band, with a decent size diamond, cut in the shape of a heart. It was engraved of course, with a very simple _I Love You_. Now he just had to convince her again of that fact. He'd had the ring since she had told him she was pregnant. He was going to propose the day he got it, but he didn't want her to think he was asking because of the pregnancy. Hopefully she would understand. Hopefully she would still say yes.


	9. The Proposal

That night as they sat up in bed, she with a book and he with a newspaper, the silence between them was sufficiently awkward. He could tell how tense and distant she was. She was trying too hard not to be that way. He set his paper down on the nightstand and mustered up all the courage he had. He turned to her but her eyes were glued to whatever story she was reading. He couldn't propose to her here. Sure it would make things easier, but that was a moment that needed to be perfect. Belle was too special, too important. So what could he say now? What could he do to make her believe that she was loved?

"Belle?" She didn't look up from her book but she mumbled something to let him know she was listening. 'Great, now what do I say?' he asked himself. "What made you allow Myranda to see Ben?" He shook his head, 'What the hell is wrong with me? Now we're probably gonna get into a fight.' Belle pulled away from her book to look at him.

"The look in her eyes when I told her that I adopted him." She stated simply, her voice holding almost no emotion. "She looked so heartbroken, so lost. Ben is my son, but I didn't give birth to him. He'll most likely ask questions about her when he's older you know. He'll want to know where he came from. There's a part of him that will always belong to her." She placed her book on the nightstand. "I'm happy she got to see him, but... the look in her eyes when Ben called me mama... she's gonna come back. When and if she does, she won't be alone. I'm gonna have to face the reality that I might lose him." She broke their gaze and picked up her book and began reading again. But Anthony wasn't done with the conversation.

"You're not going to lose him. Ben loves you. I think he loves you more than he loves me. _You _and you alone are his mother." Belle couldn't bring herself to look at him. She knew the second she did, all of her fears would come rushing out of her mouth like a waterfall. "We both need you Belle. I'd be lost without you. You aren't gonna lose him. You aren't gonna lose me either. I won't let it happen." Belle still didn't budge, but it was obvious that she was no longer reading. "I love you Belle, I will always love you." She just stared at her book, and he gave up. He reached over to place a kiss to her temple, then rolled over to his side of the bed, turned off his lamp and tried to fall asleep.

Belle watched him. She watched the rise and fall of his chest, the way he clung to his pillow like he should be clinging to her. How could he though when she was being as cold as ice. She knew he wasn't asleep, he was waiting to see if she would come to him. He wanted to know if she believed him. She put her book down and turned off her light. She then got out of bed and walked around to his side, there was still enough space for her to fit. She pulled his arm off of his pillow and draped it over her as she laid down next to him. She wrapped her own arms around his chest pulling herself closer to him and when he held her tighter, and kissed the top of her head, all of her doubt washed away and she fell into a deep sleep.

When she awoke he was still holding her, looking at her like she was the only thing in the world that mattered to him. "Good morning." he said sweetly, placing soft kisses all over her face. He brought his hand up to brush the hair out of her eyes and let it linger on her cheek.

"What time is it?" she asked groggily. She snuggled closer to him, if it was possible. She had her head rested over his heart and her eyes were slowly falling closed again. She was running her hand up and down his chest and stomach, enjoying the feeling of his bare skin. She placed a kiss on his heart and wrapped her arm back around his waist.

When he felt her lips against his skin he sucked in his breath due to the sensation. It still amazed him how her softest touches could affect him so. "It's almost seven. I have to get up soon, go to work. I have an important meeting this afternoon." He tried to stretch into a sitting position, but it was pointless with Belle holding onto him like she was.

"Do you have to go?" she asked him. "How important is this meeting anyway? Wouldn't you rather just stay in bed with me all day?" She was trying her best to be seductive, but she knew it was in vain. He had to go to work, and she wouldn't stop him.

He chuckled at her. "You know I would stay in bed with you forever if it was possible." He paused to kiss the top of her head and pull them into a sitting position, which ended up with Belle straddling him. This position was not helping him to get out of bed. "And I have a very important client coming in today, he's inquiring about making an investment in the insurance company. So as the owner of the company, I should probably be there." She bent down and kissed her way down his neck and began sucking on the flesh there. "Belle..." he moaned. "Belle, darling you must stop or I will never get to work." He was already rock hard for her and her leaving her mark on him was only making it worse. He let out a frustrated groan as she began rubbing herself against him.

She kissed her way up to his earlobe, nibbled on it gently and whispered into his ear. "If you have to go, can't I at least give you a going away present?" He groaned at her provocative words. "Tell me what you want, and I promise to make your wish come true." She worked her way back down his neck, working on making her mark even larger.

"I want.." he sucked in a sharp breath, "I want, to be inside you. Please Belle. Please let me be inside you." He was begging her like she'd been torturing him for hours, when it had barely been five minutes. He knew he wasn't going to last long, but as long as he made her come before he did, he didn't care. Belle sat up a bit so she could pull her shorts off, then she reached into Anthony's boxers and freed his incredibly hard erection.

She saw no point in teasing him, because she probably wouldn't be able to handle it either. She lined them up and slowly sank down onto him. She rested her forehead against his as they both basked in the amazing feeling of being this close to one another. Belle began to move against him slow and torturous. The gradual build up of their releases almost too much to bear. Anthony's hands held her hips so tightly that he was sure he would leave bruises. He was never rough with her, always sweet and tender like she deserved, but for some reason the thought of his bruises on her skin excited him.

Their breathing was labored as her pace quickened. Both of them desperate for release. Anthony kissed, licked, and sucked at her pulse point which made her moan even louder. He began pounding into her with such force that if she hadn't started falling apart at the seams he would have been worried he was hurting her. As he felt her convulse and shatter all around him he too found bliss.

Anthony was on the way to his meeting when a pang of guilt ran through him. He technically didn't lie to Belle, he does have an important meeting, just not for work. He pulled up to Moe French's apartment, so nervous his hands are shaking. He knew that while Belle had a lot of problems with her father, she longed for his acceptance and support. She wanted to be able to call him, and have dinner with him, and trust him. He was proposing tonight, and if he got Moe's blessing, he knew it would mean the world to Belle, whether or not she cared to admit it.

He was nervous, that was for sure. The last time he saw this man he had hit Belle because he was trying to hit their son. He knew he was going to have a difficult time containing his anger. He stood in front of Moe's door for a good ten minutes before summoning up the courage to knock. Moe answered the door with a look of surprise and terror etched on his face. "Perhaps I should've told you I was coming." Anthony looked him over, he wasn't going to let him inside. He should have expected this. "I'm only hear to ask you a question. It's for Belle." Moe nodded his head in agreement and opened the door for him. They sat awkwardly on the couch, as far away from each other as possible, both staring down at their hands in their laps.

"You said you uh.. had a question for me."

Anthony looked up an took a deep breath. "Yes. Yes I do. Mr. French, I... well as you know Belle and I have become pretty inseparable. She's adopted my son and is pregnant with my child. I know how you feel about me but Belle and I are very much in love and plan on being together for the rest of our lives." Moe said nothing just kept staring at his hands. "I know this is kind of old fashioned but, I'm here to ask for your daughter's hand." He still made no motion to do anything. "Belle doesn't know I'm here and I'm hoping she doesn't suspect my proposal either. I know it would mean a great deal to her if you gave us your blessing." Moe was as still as a stone and Anthony could tell he wouldn't be getting an answer today. He stood up and walked to the door letting himself out. Before leaving he turned and looked at Moe one last time. "I'm proposing tonight." He scribbled down something on a piece of paper he picked up from the coffee table. "This is my cell number. If you change your mind, call me." He left the paper and walked out, to begin his preparations for the night.

Everything was coming together. His mother had gotten Belle and Ben out of the house for the day so he could set up. The entire backyard was covered in roses. He put up old Christmas lights around the fence and the patio. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the lights were flashing so they looked like stars. He knew his cooking skills were superior to most men, but this was a special night and he didn't want to take any chances. He paid extra to have one of the finest restaurants in town deliver their evening special to the house. He went out and bought an expensive bottle of sparkling cider, since Belle couldn't drink champagne. He stepped back to look at the finished product and was very pleased with his work.

He heard a car pull up the driveway, and then the door shut. The plan was to have his mother keep Ben for the night so it would just be Belle and him. He heard the footsteps in the house. He left a trail of rose petals throughout the house, much like he had done for their one month anniversary. He waited anxiously outside standing by the table fiddling with the table cloth. The footsteps got closer and closer and when he saw her through the glass door he thought he was going to puke because of how nervous he was.

She walked out to him and he guided her to her seat before giving her a warm and inviting kiss. Then he walked around to find his own seat and when she smiled brightly at him, clearly genuinely shocked by all of this, he thought his heart was going to burst out of his chest. They ate and had very easy flowing conversation. When he went inside to get the dessert, he also pulled the ring out examining it one last time before putting it back in his pocket. He was proud to say that he made the dessert himself; creme brulee with fresh strawberries. When all the eating was done and Belle had moved her seat to his lap, stroking his hair and kissing his temple, he knew that this was the perfect time. He just hoped he wouldn't screw it up.

"Belle..." she looked at him and gave him another heart melting smile. "Can I ask you something?" She nodded and snuggled back down against his neck. "Well... I've been thinking about this a lot and I would've done it sooner but I was afraid you'd think it was for other reasons and I wanted you to think it was because..." She was looking at him like he had lost his mind. She wasn't catching a single word of this. "Ugh, I had this whole big speech prepared about how much I love you and how Ben loves you and how I can't imagine living one second without you in my life, but I'm so nervous my hands are shaking. Belle..." Their eyes were locked as he fumbled though his pocket trying to pull out the ring. He finally got hold of it and she gasped when she saw it. "Belle will you marry me?"


	10. Bliss

Belle couldn't form words. Her joy was so overwhelming that she couldn't form the one word she desperately wanted to say. All she was able to do was smile. A smile that reached clear across her face. "Belle? Does that smile mean yes?" She kissed him hard on the lips, refusing to let go. They melted into each other. It was the text book definition of a perfect moment. Nothing could stop their happiness, nothing could tear them apart. He slipped the ring onto her finger and she held it up for inspection. It was perfect. He was perfect. They were perfect.

Belle had hoped to be married before the baby came, but that would prove to be difficult. Her belly was rapidly expanding, which would make it nearly impossible to find a dress. There was also the problem of her father. Despite everything he had done and tried to do, she still wanted him there at her wedding. Anthony had told her how he had went to ask his permission, and how he never got an answer. She knew that this was his problem. That the huge riff in their relationship was entirely his fault. Belle hoped that when the baby was born he would at least take in interest in his grandchild.

Anthony had insisted on keeping the sex of the baby a secret. Belle felt the same, she wanted to be surprised. They had cleared out one of the guest bedrooms to make a new nursery and were in the process of buying furniture.

"I don't understand why you wouldn't keep Ben's old things. I mean didn't you ever think that you might want to have another child." Belle asked him while they drove to the store. Anthony reached over and grabbed her hand.

"It was never a matter of wanting another child. I just never thought I would find someone that I'd want to have a baby with. Then I found you." He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. Ben giggled in the back seat amused by the toy he had brought along with him. "And I had Ben, I never thought I'd find someone that loved him as I did." Belle smiled lovingly at him, happy that she ended up being that person.

At the store, Belle insisted on getting at least one of everything. Before she knew it her cart was full and Anthony had to go in search of another. Her and Ben were browsing through the toys. Ben was insisting on picking out a stuffed animal for his new baby sister, because he was completely convinced that it was a girl. He was looking at a plush pink elephant when she heard someone call out her name. She looked up and glanced around and her eyes landed on her old friend Ruby. Ruby was one of the last people she wanted to talk to. She had told her that she was crazy when she first started dating Anthony, she didn't want to hear her thoughts now that she was engaged and pregnant. So she turned back around and put Ben back in the shopping cart with the elephant, which he was very excited about. "Mama like?" Belle ruffled his hair and kissed his nose.

"Mama loves it." She began pushing the cart through the aisle when Ruby's hand caught her arm. Belle sighed and reluctantly turned to face her.

"Belle, I haven't seen you in almost a year. Where have you been?" Ruby was awful at hiding the fact that her eyes were locked in on her stomach.

"I've been around. I still work at the childhood center." Belle faked a smile, as did Ruby, as least she wasn't the only one who felt awkward. Ruby babbled for a bit about what she'd been up to. Belle tried her best to listen but found her mind wandering.

"Belle? Belle are you in there?" Ruby waved a hand in front of her face and Belle woke up from her little daydream. "So are you still with... you know?" Ruby felt very uncomfortable. The truth was she was always happy for Belle. She had always hated Gavin and Anthony always seemed to make her happy. But when she mentioned that he had a kid, Ruby got a little overprotective. She just didn't want Belle to get hurt.

"Yes. Did you not see the child sitting in the cart?" She replied a little too harshly. Ruby flinched, and her shoulders sagged.

"Look, Belle, I'm sorry. I was just worried about you. I tried calling you." Ruby was trying to make amends, Belle realized. While Ruby had hurt her, she wanted to forgive Ruby more than anything. Even though she loved Anthony and knew she could talk to him about anything and Nancy was always there for her, and she had Ben of course, but she needed a friend. A friend that wasn't a part of her family. "I just didn't want you to get hurt again. And when you said that he had a kid, I just assumed that he was using you. You were my best friend Belle, I just wanted to protect you."

Belle smiled at her. "I have missed talking to you." Ruby's face lit up. "You were my best friend too you know." Ruby couldn't help herself. She flung her arms around Belle and pulled her into a fierce hug. They laughed and pulled apart. Ben grabbed at Belle's shirt, trying to get her attention. "Oh how rude of me. Ruby this is my son Ben. He is a little shy." Ruby smiled at the boy and he immediately hid himself in Belle's shirt. "Told you." She picked Ben up and placed him on her hip, his face was buried in her neck. "Ben can you say hello to my friend Ruby?" Ben lifted his hand to look at his mama, then turned to Ruby and gave her a little wave.

"Hey there. How old are you?" Ruby asked gently.

Ben turned his head to look at her and Belle gave him an encouraging smile. "I tree year old."

Ruby gasped playfully, "Wow you are practically a grown up." Ben giggled and hid his face back in Belle's hair.

Anthony came up behind Belle adding to the conversation. "Yes, soon he'll be bringing home girls and refusing to talk to us in public because we embarrass him and he won't find the need to hide in his mother's hair when he meets people." Belle gasped and smacked his chest.

"Don't say that!" As much as she wanted to be offended, she couldn't stop herself from laughing. She then turned to Ruby and smiled, "Ruby this is Anthony, you two never did actually meet. Anthony this is Ruby." They shook hands and exchanged greetings. Belle put Ben back on the ground to look at more stuffed animals, when Anthony caught a glimpse of the pink elephant in the cart. He picked it up and inspected it.

"Who is this for? Surely Ben didn't pick this out for himself?" Belle smacked him again and took the toy from him.

"No, Ben picked that out for his "little sister" why he's so convinced it's a girl I'll never know." Ruby watched the way Anthony slid his arm around Belle's waist protectively. She assumed that Belle had told him about their fight. She watched him whisper in her hair, and how Belle laughed at whatever joke he made. She had to admit that she was a little jealous. Belle really found the one and she was starting a family with him, well technically she already started the family.

Belle had invited Ruby over for dinner that night so they could talk more. Anthony loved how happy she was. He was still wary though, her friends have hurt her before. She lost them because of him. He wouldn't let that happen this time. Ruby was either going to stick around or... he didn't know what he would do. All he knew was that he couldn't let his Belle go through anymore heartache.

Ben was trying to help Belle in the kitchen while Anthony set the table. Ben was playing with a carrot while Belle was chopping the rest of them. The food was all prepared and just as she was about to move everything on the table there was a knock at the door. Belle went to answer it, letting Ruby in and leading her to the kitchen. "This house is beautiful." Belle smiled.

"Remind me to give you a tour later. There's even a library." Ruby laughed.

"Now I know why you fell in love with him." They both laughed, Belle's love of books was no secret.

Dinner was pleasant. Conversation was kept light. Ben stole away most of the attention with his sheer cuteness. When Anthony brought Ben upstairs to get him ready for bed, Belle and Ruby sat on the couch getting reacquainted. "You're really happy aren't you?" Ruby grabbed Belle's hand and squeezed it.

Belle was smiling like an idiot. "I am. I never thought I would be this happy." Ruby smiled at her friend.

"I can't tell you sorry enough for what happened between us." Ruby sighed, "We lost so much time. Remember how we used to stay up all night gossiping and..."

Belle cut her off giggling like a school girl, "No, no we are not going there! He is right upstairs."

Ruby ignored her pleas, "Oh come on. Are you worried he's listening? Because the only thing you'd have to worry about then is if you had something bad to say, which I'm guessing you don't because of how badly you're blushing." Ruby gave her a playful nudge. "At least tell me how often."

Belle's face had to have been at least five different shades of red. "Ruby!" she scolded. But Ruby wasn't letting this go. Belle turned towards the stairs to see if she could hear anything, the coast was clear. "Alright fine," she spoke in a whisper. "We have a very healthy sexual relationship." Ruby nudged her again giving her a look that said 'you've got to be kidding me' and Belle sighed in defeat. "Okay fine! We have... sex almost every night are you happy?" Ruby squealed as Belle hit her with a pillow.

"And umm, how is he? I mean obviously he isn't that inadequate due to your present state" Belle hit her with the pillow again, "but how _is _he?" Ruby was leaning in excited to hear more.

"You know I liked this game better when I was just the listener. If you absolutely must know... Anthony is... he's like a God." Ruby let out an excited laugh and pressed for details. "He always makes sure that I... you know, before he even thinks about his own needs. He is an extraordinary kisser and he seems to know my body better than I do most of the time. And I know you're going to ask so do you remember when you went out with that guy Danny?" Ruby nodded, liking where this was going. "Well he's a good two inches bigger than Danny." Ruby couldn't help but let out a little scream.

"Jesus Belle, no wonder you're pregnant. He's huge!" Belle threw her hand over Ruby's mouth.

"Will you shut it? He's right upstairs." Belle was laughing despite herself.

"I am very happy for you Belle." Ruby's voice was nothing but sincere.

When Anthony came back downstairs to inform Belle that Ben refused to sleep without her reading him a story, Belle shot Ruby a warning look and headed upstairs to take care of her little man.

"So," Anthony shifted from side to side clearly uncomfortable, "How long have you known Belle?"

"I've known her most of my life actually, we met in second grade." Anthony nodded. "I'm happy she found you. You're the kind of guy she's always wanted."

"Well I suppose you would know." Ruby nodded and smiled besides the fact that the joke was awful. Anthony knew what he wanted to say but he didn't want it to come out to threatening. So he tried to keep his voice soft, "I don't want her to get hurt again."

Ruby looked down at her hands. "I don't want to hurt her again. It was never my intention, I was just being overprotective. I should've given you a chance and I'm sorry I didn't."

"Well, I'm glad." Anthony felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders. "And I'm glad she'll have another woman to really talk to besides my mother, and her boss who she doesn't particularly get on with. She needs a friend and I'm glad it's you."

Ruby smiled, "She really picked a winner didn't she?"

Anthony chuckled, "I hope so."

When Belle came back down, Ruby made her excuses to leave, gave Belle a wink that she knew Anthony would catch and drove off. They closed the door, and made their way to the living room to watch a little television before bed. Anthony had his arm around her and she had her head resting on his shoulder. He was the one to break their comfortable silence. "So I'm really like a God?" Belle's head jerked up and she immediately started blushing. "Well my love, why don't we see just how godly I can be?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively and she pulled him in for a passionate kiss.


	11. Nightmares and Surprises

Another two months passed, and Belle's stomach grew bigger and bigger. Ruby was a frequent visitor. Her and Belle had become practically inseparable once again. Today they were out shopping. Not for the baby though, Ruby convinced her that it was time to buy a little something for herself. "You know after you have the baby you'll be able to fit into things like this again." Ruby lifted up a very skimpy piece of lingerie.

"Ruby!" Belle blushed and grabbed the scrap of fabric and placed it back on the hanger. "I don't think I could fit into that even if I went back to my normal size." Ruby gave her a knowing smirk.

"Oh come on, you know Anthony would drool all over you if you walked out of the bathroom in something like that." Belle rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her breath. "What was that? You're gonna have to speak up."

Belle glared at her friend and placed her hands on her hips. "I said... he already drools all over me." Ruby squealed and threw another pair of skimpy underwear at her.

They browsed through multiple stores. Ruby found a lot of clothes and accessories for herself. No matter how hard Belle tried to do the same, she couldn't help but find herself in the baby section of every store they went in. She ended up buying at least two dozen new outfits for the baby and nothing for herself, but that was just a normal shopping day for her.

They were in the checkout line of their final store for the day when her phone rang. She searched through her bag and found it just in time. "Hello?" she answered pleasantly. The line on the other end wasn't as pleasant. It was the hospital. Anthony had gotten into a car accident. Everything around her stood still. Her breathing became shallow, her hands started shaking and her vision began to blur. Ruby was trying her best to help her to the car but she felt her legs giving out. She felt like her whole world was collapsing around her and she was powerless to stop it.

Ruby drove as fast as she could to the hospital. She didn't bother finding a parking space. She stopped the car right in front of the entrance and let Belle out. "I'll be right in okay Belle, I'm sure everything is gonna be fine." Even as the words came out of her mouth, she had a hard time believing them.

Belle ran right up to the front desk, trying desperately to hide her tears. "I'm looking for Anthony Gold." The nurse looked up at her sympathetically.

"Are you his family?" Belle's tears were replaced with anger.

"Of course I'm his damn family! Now where is he? Those jerks on the phone wouldn't tell me anything. Is he alright? How bad is it?!" The nurse stood and walked around the desk to try and console her, but Belle wasn't having any of that. "Just tell me where he is!"

"He's still in surgery. But the boy is doing just fine he's..." Belle cut her off.

"Ben was in the car!" Belle's voice was failing her. She was ready to pass out.

"Yes, he is in room 317. Would you like me to lead you there? Or would you rather have the doctor come get you." Belle suddenly felt awful for yelling at this woman. She was just trying to help her.

"Have you called his mother?" Belle's voice was quiet. She needed Nancy here, she would now what to do.

"His mother? I thought that you were his mother."

"No Anthony's mother. Is she on her way?" The nurse looked shocked, and she went a little pale.

"They didn't tell you anything on the phone did they?" Belle's face dropped. This couldn't possibly be happening. "Nancy Gold, she didn't make it. They said she died on impact." Belle let out a gut wrenching sob. "I'm so sorry for your loss." The nurse guided Belle to a chair and sat with her until Ruby came in.

"I need to get to Ben." The nurse nodded and lead the two up to the third floor where Ben's room was. Belle opened the door, slowly, afraid of what she might see. She wiped at her eyes once more. She needed to be strong for her son. She couldn't frighten him more by showing him her tears.

Ben was cuddling with his stuffed lion on the hard hospital bed. He was wide awake. There was a small bandage on his forehead an a few bruises on his arms, but beside that he looked perfectly fine. "Mama!" He immediately reached out his arms for her and Belle found it very hard not to jump in the bed with him.

"It's alright sweetheart. Mama's here now, everything's gonna be fine." She held him tight against her and whispered soothing words into his hair, until he fell into an uneasy sleep.

The doctor walked in. It was obvious he hadn't changed from surgery, his whole front was caked in blood. "I'm sorry, Ms. French, he didn't make it."

Belle shot up in bed, covered in sweat. She looked over at Anthony who was still sleeping soundly. It was just a nightmare. A very real, very awful nightmare. She didn't want to wake up Anthony, but she she didn't really want to be alone either. It was times like these she wished that she didn't have this gigantic stomach so she could simply roll on to is chest and have him hold her. So she settled for nudging his shoulder until he got annoyed enough with her and woke up, very grumpy.

"What's wrong?" he said as he let his head fall back into the pillow.

"I'm sorry, I just... I had a nightmare." Anthony sat up with her, no longer irritated, his eyes questioning. "I dreamed that.. that you had a car accident and when I got to the hospital they told me Nancy was dead and that you were in surgery and that Ben was okay so I was sitting with him when your surgeon came and said... you died." her voice cracked on the last word, her emotions running rapid. "I'm sorry. I know it's silly because you're here and we're together and everything's fine and we're having a baby and it's just these damn hormones!" Belle's breathing was starting to turn into hyperventilating and Anthony had her wrapped in his arms rubbing her back soothingly trying to get her to calm down.

"I'm never going to leave you Belle." She looked to him, the desperation in her eyes making his heart ache. "I love you. We will be together forever. I promise you that we will be." He kissed her temple and convinced her to try and go back to sleep, saying that he would stay up until she was sleeping again. He pulled her close and she rested her head against his shoulder and let her eyes slip shut. Anthony watched over her like she was a treasure that he was ordered to guard. And she was. She was his treasure and his heart commanded him to protect her.

Belle woke alone in their bed but could hear Ben's childish giggling and she could smell breakfast cooking downstairs. She tugged her robe on and waddled down the hall and stairs and into the kitchen. "Mama!" Ben stood up on his chair to give her a huge hug which she returned happily. "Mama wan eat bekfest?" Belle ruffled his hair and took a seat next to him while Anthony brought over a plate for each of them. He leaned across the table to give Belle a quick kiss. Belle's already beaming grin widened when she noticed that Anthony had made her blueberry pancakes for breakfast.

Ben was being extremely talkative this morning which was very unusual. "Can we go to pak today?"

Belle and Anthony looked at each other, knowing that when they told Ben where they would be going today he would be bouncing off the walls with excitement. "Actually Ben we have special plans for today." Anthony was trying to sound nonchalant but he was excited too. Ben made a confused face and asked where they were going. "Well it's going to be a surprise." Ben pouted and took another bite of his pancake.

After breakfast, while Anthony was in the shower Belle was busy getting Ben ready for the day. She let him choose which t-shirt he wanted to wear and he decided on the one with a lion on it. She brushed through his hair, and pulled him into some jeans, had him help her tie his sneakers (because he is determined to learn as soon as possible) and after he made sure to grab his stuffed lion he was ready to go.

After Anthony was dried and dressed, Belle quickly through on one of her favorite maternity dresses, some sandals and a light cardigan. Just thinking about the day ahead was making Belle smile. It also made her love Anthony even more than she already did, if that was even possible. The lengths he would go to sometimes just to make his son smile were incredible.

The drive wasn't too terrible, just under an hour. Ben was very anxious to see the surprise his parents had for him. When Belle unbuckled him and helped him out of the car and he saw the huge sign over the entrance, with all the different animals on it, he knew where he was. "The zoo!" Ben was jumping up and down out of excitement and Belle and Anthony were trying to suppress their laughter. If just being here was making Ben this happy, what would he do when he found out what else was in store for him today.


	12. Lion Cubs and Midnight Rendezvous

Ben ran from exhibit to exhibit, never getting enough of the animals. He spent a little extra time at the tigers and lions of course. The smile on his face was so bright it could have replaced the sun. He watched with delight as the monkeys swung from tree to tree. He gasped in awe when the peacocks spread their colorful feathers out for view. When the lions roared, he roared along with them. The day went so pleasantly, it seemed almost too good to be true.

Just when Ben thought the day was over, the zoo's manager approached them in the gift shop while Belle was purchasing a stuffed tiger for the little tyke. "Excuse me, are you Mr. Gold?" Anthony nodded and shook the man's hand. "Excellent. When you and your family are ready you can follow me."

Belle paid for the tiger, handed it to Ben and turned to Anthony. Anthony bent down to be at eye level with Ben. "Are you ready for your big surprise?" Ben shook his head enthusiastically. "Alright then."

Ben grabbed Belle's hand and they all followed the manager to through the back of the zoo, to the area where the zoo's veterinarians work. He led them through a set of double doors and what was behind them, even made Anthony start oohing and awing. Ben looked like he had just opened his eyes for the very first time. In the room were two baby lion cubs. He let go of Belle's hand and keeping his new stuffed animal clutched tightly in his arms, he walked over to the veterinarian who was supervising the cubs.

Ben was able to help feed them and play with them to his heart's content. He would roll around on the carpet with them and he held them like a baby when it was time to eat. He got his picture taken with them and was even allowed special viewing privileges to see how they interacted with their mother. Of course he wasn't allowed to have contact with the adult lioness, but it was still just as cool.

Belle and Anthony stood off to the side, watching their son have the time of his life playing with big kittens. Belle was resting her head against Anthony's shoulder, one hand wrapped protectively around her rapidly expanding belly and the other gipping her love's hand. Life couldn't get much better than this.

The ride back home was very quiet. Ben had been talkative for the first ten minutes or so, but eventually the day got the best of him and he fell into a deep sleep. Belle was also feeling a bit drowsy but managed to stay awake so Anthony wouldn't be stuck with nothing but cheesy eighties songs to keep him company.

When they arrived home Anthony carried Ben up to his room and tucked him into bed. Belle was busy in the kitchen fixing herself a snack. Pickles dipped in chocolate. Anthony could smell it from upstairs. "I can't wait for that baby to be born. I don't think I can take these cravings much longer." Belle only rolled her eyes at him when he entered the kitchen. "Honestly sweetheart, how is that a good combination?" He waved his hand at her chocolate covered pickle and grimaced.

"What you don't want to try it?" Belle was trying to sound innocent, but she was failing miserably. She took a big bite out of the pickle and made sure to dip it back in the chocolate before chasing after him with it.

"Belle get that disgusting thing away from me!" He was trying desperately not to laugh but it was difficult when he looked behind him to find Belle wagging the pickle around like a lunatic.

He made a move for the couch trying to climb away from her finally using her pregnancy to his advantage. Belle huffed in frustration, but her frustration only fueled her determination. Then a pained sound escaped her mouth and her arm wrapped her stomach. Anthony was off the couch in less than a second and at her side, repeatedly telling her that she would be okay and that everything would be fine and asking her if she was uncomfortable or if he should call an ambulance. Since he was so caught up in Belle, you think he would notice her little smirk and the chocolate covered pickle she was holding heading straight for his open mouth. It took him a matter of seconds to react before spitting the foul thing to the ground. "Now you're just wasting food" Belle scolded him.

Anthony glared at her and she squealed with delight as he pinned her to the couch. "I'm going to get you back for that."

"Sure you are darling." Belle replied coyly.

"Now I have that awful taste in my mouth. I can't risk letting you escape, but I need to get that taste off my tongue." Anthony made a face, to indicate that he was in deep thought. "If only there was some way I could have both." Belle squirmed beneath him, loving the game he was playing. Loving that even though she was seven months pregnant, their sex life was still just as fabulous as it was before.

Anthony put both of her wrists in one hand as he slowly caressed her body with the other. He pulled the hem of her dress up around her waist and he dipped a finger into her panties. Belle moaned appreciatively at the contact. He ran his finger through her folds twice before pulling away. He brought his finger up to his mouth and licked it clean. "Oh yes," he moaned, "this will do just fine."

He hooked her panties around his finger and pulled them down her legs. He wasted no time in letting his tongue explore her. Keeping her hands pinned to the couch. He licked and sucked and nibbled on her clit until she was all but begging him to let her cum. He made sure to work her thoroughly, knowing exactly what it took to drive her mad.

"Please..." Belle moaned.

Anthony lifted his head to ask "please what?" before diving back down into her slick heat.

"Please... need you... inside... please." Those were the magic words. He released her hands and she made quick work on undoing his belt and pushing his pants and boxers down as quickly as she could. As soon as he was free he slipped inside her with one easy stroke. Neither of them lasted very long. When they calmed down from their high and Anthony leaned in to give Belle a loving kiss, she commented that she could still taste the pickle juice and chocolate sauce.

"Well then, I guess I'm just going to have to work a bit harder when we get upstairs." Belle hummed against his throat.

"I look forward to it."

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Gavin pulled his car into the abandoned parking lot, leaving his headlights on he got out of the vehicle. He walked around to sit on the hood when a woman approached him. "So, are you Gavin?" the woman asked.

"Well that all depends." Gavin turned his head toward the woman. "Are you Myranda?" The woman smiled, an evil kind of smile.

"I hear you're the guy who can help me get my son back." Myranda stood in front of him.

Gavin crossed his arms and smirked at the woman. "What kind of assistance do you require?"

"I want you to tell me everything you know about that Belle French." Gavin leaned closer to her.

"And, what will I get out of this?" Myranda seemed impressed by his sleaziness, a quality they both possessed.

She seemed to think for a moment before speaking. "How about... the little slut's head on a platter?" Gavin grinned maliciously. "I suppose that would do?" Gavin did nothing bu nod. There truly wasn't a good bone in his body.

xxxxxxxx

When Belle woke up that morning Anthony had already left for work. She had slept later than usual, probably due to last night's activities. She made her way to Ben's room, finding him up and playing with his toys. When he spotted her in the doorway he ran to her side and gave her leg a huge hug.

She made him breakfast and when he was dressed and ready to go, they left for the childcare center. Ben burst through the door, running to play with all of his friends. Belle put his bag down and clocked in. She was about to go into the play room when Emma caught her arm. "Hey, can we talk?" Belle didn't like the sound of that.

They both sat down in Emma's office staring awkwardly at each other. Despite the time that had passed, they still weren't on the best of terms. "I didn't call you in here to fire you, if that's what you're thinking." Belle let out a sigh of relief, and Emma continued. "I don't mean to be digging into your personal life like this, but, why do you still insist on working at this crappy paying job, when you're engaged to a millionaire?"

Belle was a little shocked by the question, but she knew just how to answer it. "I love working here." Emma stared at her like she had five heads. "I love working with kids. And as for my millionaire fiance, this is just another way for me to prove to him that I don't love him because of his money. And if I didn't work here, there would be no point in me bringing Ben here if I could just watch him at home. He needs the interaction."

"Are you sure this conversation isn't just a sugar-coated way to tel me that you don't want me to work here anymore?" Emma laughed and shook her head.

"Trust me Belle, you're a natural when it comes to kids." Belle smiled at her words. "I just don't want you to hold yourself back. You could do so much better than this."

Belle nodded, "I plan on it. It's just, with the baby coming, I don't see the point in trying to find a job I'll have to leave for a month or two right after starting. I want to be able to enjoy my child without worrying about work." Emma smiled at Belle, understanding where she was coming from.

The day went on as usual, except for coming home. When Belle pulled into the driveway she was greeted by her father sitting on the front steps, waiting for her. Belle ignored him while she got Ben out of his car seat and grabbed his bag and new artwork he had made today. She walked around through the garage, not wanting Ben anywhere near her father until she knew why he was here.

She opened the front door to him, still not inviting him in. "What do you want?" Moe hung his head. "Well?" Belle tapped her fingers against the door frame anxiously, until he finally spoke.

"I came to... apologize." Belle's eyes widened in surprise. "About everything. I wasn't a good father to you and I had no reason not to be." Belle had a tear in her eye as she listened to her father go on and on about how wrong he was, and how he wanted to make everything right again. "I want to be there for my grandchildren. Like I was never there for you. I know forgiveness is a lot to ask, but I'm asking. Please forgive me Belle." Belle said nothing. She wanted to forgive him, absolutely. But the last time she saw this man he was about to attack her son.

"Thank you for coming here, and saying all that. I know it couldn't have been easy." Moe nodded his head in agreement. "I can't forgive you for everything yet. I need time." He looked saddened and defeated by her words. "I'll call you when I can." Belle gave him a reassuring smile before shutting the door and turning her attentions toward dinner, and her darling son who was busy making a castle out of his blocks in the living room.

Anthony and Belle sat in bed that night, both preoccupied with some type of reading material. "My dad stopped by today." Anthony dropped whatever important work document he was holding and turned towards her.

"And you wait until now to mention this, why?" Belle shrugged her shoulders.

"I guess I'm still kind of in shock." Anthony looked concerned.

"What did he do to you?" Anthony's eyes were scanning her body for any bruises that he might not have noticed before.

Belle grabbed his hand, calming him down slightly. "He apologized." That was all she said. She placed her book on the nightstand and flipped off the switch and cuddled into the pillows. Anthony was still sitting up in a state of shock, staring at his beautiful Belle. She was so forgiving, so full of love. He couldn't wait to marry her. Who knows, maybe her father might actually be there to walk her down the aisle.


	13. Trust and Babies

Another two months had gone by and Belle's due date was fast approaching. They had baby-proofed the entire house and had been keeping the car seat and hospital bag in the car so they wouldn't waste any time when Belle went into labor. Nancy was over the house almost everyday. She was being a huge help with Ben, since Belle could barely bend over anymore. She also was able to answer a lot of Belle's questions, and there were a lot of them.

Anthony had been working at home as well for the past week, so he would be right there when the day came. The one thing he didn't expect to happen was sabotage. When he sat at his desk that morning looking through his email, he came across some interesting photos. They were obviously photoshopped. There were dozens of pictures of Belle over the last year... with Gavin. They did look rather convincing at first, but Anthony had recognized every scene, every dress, in every photo. They were actually pictures of Belle and him. Gavin was up to something, but what?

Anthony needed to talk to Belle, she knew the man better than he did. He found her in the kitchen, drinking out of the pickle jar, as usual. "Belle, love, could come here for a moment?" Belle smiled and went to put the jar back in the fridge before waddling over to him. She tried to give him a kiss, but he made some snarky comment about her breath and she ended up hitting him instead. "How are feeling today?"

"I am ready for this kid to get out of me" she laughed. "I don't know how much longer I can take the waddling" Anthony laughed nervously along with her. She was in such a good mood, he didn't want to ruin it.

Anthony opened the door to his office and let Belle sit in his chair, he stood behind her letting his free hand rest on her shoulder. "I don't want you to be upset when I show these to you. I know they're fake, but I think you should see them anyway in case someone tries to send you pictures like this."

"Anthony, what on earth are you talking about?" Anthony clicked on the email and began scrolling through the pictures. Belle was positively shocked and disgusted. She remembered every single one of these moments... with Anthony. This meant that Gavin had been straight up stocking them for the past year. Who knows what other pictures he might have.

"Belle?" Anthony asked softly, "are you alright darling?" Belle just continued staring open-mouthed at the computer screen. "Belle... do you know why he would do this _now_?" Belle ignored his question, logging him out and signing in to her own email, seeing if she had gotten any pictures of him. She had, from the same sender, except the pictures of him were a bit more, provocative, and they were of him with Myranda. The last photo could probably be considered pornography. Anthony had her pressed up against the car, her legs were wrapped around his waist, her head was flung back and he was devouring her neck while his hands cupped her breasts under her blouse. She remembered that night. Nancy had taken Ben and they were celebrating her graduation.

"Why would he do this?" she asked to herself. "How did we not notice him following us around?" Anthony shook his head in frustration.

"I don't know love, but don't worry, I'm going to make a call and have the police deal with this." Anthony logged out of her email, but Belle still stared at the computer screen. He moved around so he was kneeling by her side. "I'm going to keep you safe Belle, that's a promise. I never break my promises." Belle finally glanced down at him and he was finally able to see just how heartbroken she was.

"Why doesn't anyone want me to be happy?" she whispered, more to herself than to Anthony. Just as he was about to tell her how ridiculous that statement was, Ben ran through the door and practically jumped into Belle's arms. She let out a loud umph and sat back in the chair with Ben in her lap. "What is it sweetie?"

"Gramma chasin me!" Belle laughed a little at his scared expression.

"And why is she chasing you?" Belle raised an eyebrow at him, and he hid his face against her swollen belly.

"I finger paint on her shirt by axidant" Ben mumbled against her stomach.

Belle gasped mockingly, "Did you apologize?" Ben shook his head 'no'.

Then, a very well painted Nancy walked into the room. Her shirt had all sorts of handprints on it, none of them looking accidental. "Young man," she said in a stern voice. "You have a very big mess to clean up out there." Ben only cuddled closer to his mother, but she gently pushed him away.

Ben looked up at her, slightly teary eyed. "Don't you look at me like that. You have a mess to clean up, and an apology to give." Ben reluctantly slid off her lap and shuffled over to his grandmother.

"I sorry gramma" he said shyly, his eyes glued to his feet. Nancy smiled down at her grandson, accepted his apology and lead him out to the kitchen to clean up his mess.

Anthony rubbed his temple, "well that was a decent distraction." He looked up to see that Belle's face had fallen back to it's broken hearted state. "Sweetheart, Gavin is one idiot. One huge idiot and there's no doubt in my mind that Myranda was part of this too. Gavin's jealous that you're with me and Myranda's jealous that we have Ben." Belle looked up at him, hopefully. "We'll peg Gavin for the stalking and this whole thing will blow over."

Belle still looked unsure. "What about Myranda?" she paused. "What if this is just her plan to separate us so she can take Ben back?"

Anthony grabbed her hands and squeezed them lightly. "That's never gonna happen. Ben is yours. Hell, he's more yours than he is mine. And I'm yours. You've got us Belle, we aren't going anywhere." Belle squeezed his hand back and gave him a smile. He leaned in to kiss her but she pulled back.

He looked confused, asking her what was wrong with his eyes. "I thought I had pickle breath?" He chuckled at that, her little joke proving that she was okay.

"I was only teasing love. You know that I'd gladly kiss you, no matter what your breath smells like." She grinned seductively at him and leaned in to give him that kiss. When there lips touched, a sharp pain shot through her abdomen. She pulled back and squeezed his hand, hard. "What's wrong?"

She looked at him, a little scared, but happier than ever. "It's time" she squealed.

Anthony shot up like a lightening bolt. "It's.. it's time?!" Belle giggled at him and reached out he hands so he could help her up. He pulled her close and rested a hand protectively over her stomach. They just stared into each other, soaking in the moment until another sharp pain broke Belle out of the trance. They called to Nancy as they made their way to the car, telling her to meet them at the hospital. Ben came running up to them before they could walk through the door. He latched on to Belle's leg and squeezed tight.

"Is my sista coming?" Belle smiled down at him and ruffled his hair.

"Yes she is." Belle had never encouraged his idea of the baby being a girl before, not wanting him to be disappointed if it wasn't, but there was so much conviction in his voice, even for a three year old, that made her believe it would be a girl too.

Anthony drove as quickly and as carefully as he could to the hospital. They checked Belle in and he wheeled her up to the room where she changed into her hospital gown. Doctor Whale came in shortly after that and examined her. He said that everything was in order and it would be a few hours until much more progress would be made.

Nancy and Ben had arrived an hour later with balloons, flowers, and a new stuffed animal that Ben had picked out in the gift shop. When they walked into the room, Belle was in the middle of a contraction. Her face was covered in sweat and Anthony's hand was turning purple. She was also swearing at him for doing this to her and yelling at him for forgetting to put a condom on. While Nancy laughed at her profanity, Ben cowered in fear behind her, he had never seen his mama angry before.

When the contraction was over and Belle had calmed down, sucking on the ice chips provided for her. Ben walked over to the bed slowly, still slightly afraid of his mothers screaming. "How are you doing dear?" Nancy asked from the doorway.

Belle laughed hazily and let her head fall back onto the pillow. "Well I have ten pain free minutes to look forward to." Nancy chuckled at her, moving to sit in one of the chairs near the bed. While Ben made it to the side of the bed, he held up the little giraffe for inspection and when Belle looked at him, smiled and reached out to him, he hesitated.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" Ben hid his face behind the giraffe and mumbled something Belle couldn't quite understand.

When she asked him again he spoke clearer, "you were scary mama" Belle frowned, a little puzzled.

"What do you mean?" Ben looked to his father and ran around to him hopping in his lap.

"You yell at daddy and call him bad names." Ben got a little braver when he saw how sad his mama looked, and instead of hiding against his father he leaned over the bed and put the giraffe in his mama's arms.

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to be scary. Will you forgive me?" Ben looked to his father to try and find the right answer and Anthony lifted him so he could sit on the edge of the bed. He then curled into Belle's side and rubbed her stomach apologetically.

"Is okay mama" Belle kissed the top of his head and held him close.

"How long has it been?" Belle asked, looking to Anthony for an answer. He held up his watch to calculate the time.

"About four minutes. So six more minutes of bliss and then Ben should probably get out of here so he isn't scarred for life." Belle kissed Ben's head again, not willing to let him go just yet.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he's here for all of the good parts" Nancy reassured her. Belle smiled even as the minutes ticked by and Ben, unfortunately had to leave. But as Anthony grabbed her hand in preparation for the oncoming contraction, she realized she wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Hours passed and the time finally came to move to the delivery room. Belle's contractions were thirty seconds apart and she was full dilated. Anthony was somewhat behind her, letting her lean on him. Her screams were blood curdling at best. She would curse at Anthony in the few seconds she had between pushes and he would just smile at her and tell her how much he loved her.

"Alright I see the head Belle, a few more pushes and you get to meet your baby." Belle let out a breathless little laugh, that was meant to sound excited but just ended up sounding exhausted. One push. Two pushes. Three pushes. The soft cries of their child filled the room as doctor Whale informed them that it was in fact, a girl. They cut the cord, the nurses cleaned her off a bit, and wrapped her in a blanket before handing her off to her anxious mother and father.

Belle cradled her daughter close to her chest, counting her fingers and toes. Anthony gently ran his hand over her soft chocolate brown hair. "She's perfect" Belle managed to get out, even though she truly was at a loss for words. Anthony looked to Belle and they laughed at each other, realizing they were both crying.

"We never really discussed names." Belle thought for a moment before responding.

"Maybe Ben has some ideas" Anthony chuckled as he bent down to kiss his daughter's rosy cheek. "He was right about the girl thing." Anthony beamed at her, giving her a nice slow kiss.

"Well then let's bring him in shall we?" Belle nodded eagerly, unable to wait another moment for her son to meet his sister. And Nancy to meet her second grandchild. Anthony is gone for less than a minute before he leads Ben and his mother into the room. Ben sprints over to her bedside, and Anthony picks him up and places him on the bed so he can see everything.

"Oh Belle, she's beautiful. Absolutely stunning" Nancy praises. Belle smiles proudly at her, but her gaze is stolen again by the little bundle in her arms.

"Hi sista. I your brudder" Ben leaned in carefully and gave the baby a kiss on the forehead. "Was her name?" Ben asked curiously.

Belle looked to Anthony, and an idea sprung into his mind. "What was your mother's name love?" Belle's eyes widened. He wanted to name the baby after her mother. If she didn't already love him more than anything in the world, beside her precious children of course, she would have fallen in love with him for that.

"It was Ava" Belle choked out, clearly emotional. Then she looked to Ben, "What do you think her middle name should be?" Ben seemed lost in thought. He glanced around the room, as if looking for ideas when he saw the rose on the bedside table.

"Was that called?" he asked pointing to the flower.

"That's a rose" Anthony answered him.

"Rose!" Ben said excitedly. "Is pretty like my sista."

Another tear fell from Belle's eyes. How did she ever get so lucky? She certainly didn't do anything to deserve this family's love. And yet they had given it to her. They had given her everything. This family saved her. And now she was a part of it. She looked to Anthony and then back to her beautiful daughter, who was just starting to open her eyes. "Ava Rose" Belle stated, "it's so nice to finally meet you."


	14. Sweet Sweet Mothehood

The first couple of weeks home were hectic. Anthony had taken a week off from work, but that's all he could manage, fearing that if he was gone for too long the company would burn to the ground. They came up with a steady schedule for the night. They would switch off between feedings and changes, since they didn't want to just breastfeed her. But for the most part Ava slept through most of the night. And when she would wake up in the middle of the night her parents were never greeted by screams or crying.

Ruby was over practically everyday, since Belle had asked her to be Ava's godmother. Nancy had been staying in one of the guest bedrooms, unable to leave her granddaughter. Anthony having past experience dealing with newborns was proving to be especially helpful. But Belle was a natural mother. Most of the time she didn't even need the baby monitor, it was like she had a sixth sense when it came to Ava.

Anthony hated to admit it, but he was a tad bit jealous at first that he never had that kind of connection to Ben when he was a baby, but then again he was a nervous wreck back then, and he was on his own. But now, standing in the kitchen at three in the morning cradling his little Ava in his arms, heating up her bottle, the fact that he was jealous, even for that little moment seemed ridiculous to him. He was the luckiest man in the world. He had a perfect son. He found Belle, a beautiful, kind-hearted, smart, incredible woman who fell in love with him, and loved his son as if he were her own. Now they had a beautiful daughter together. What more could any man ask for.

He stared down at his daughter, who had been staring at him. "I'm so happy you got your mama's eyes." Ava made various cooing noises and reached out her tiny hand to grab her daddy' finger. "You look just like your mama. You know what that means?" Ava just kept playing with his finger. "It means that I'm going to be kicking a lot of horny teenage boys out of here one day." He smiled down at his blue-eyed daughter, "No one will ever be good enough for you" he vowed.

"You still have a little time, before you worry about those kinds of things." Belle's voice startled him out of his little daydream. When he turned to face her, a light blush graced his features. He had been caught. "And you won't be kicking them out alone" she smiled mischievously. She walked over to him, kissing her daughters head before giving Anthony a warm kiss on the lips.

Anthony was sure he was grinning like a schoolboy. "What are you doing up anyway? You still have a few hours before you'll have to be up with her. She just shrugged, too busy admiring Ava to give him an actual response. "You know, if you want to feed her I can just put the bottle back in the fridge.

"Are you sure? I know how much love spending this kind of time with her." Anthony handed Ava to Belle and guided his girls to the rocking chair in the living room. He pulled Belle into his lap, and kissed her exposed shoulder.

"I love spending this kind of time with the both of you." With that said Belle rolled up her nightgown and began feeding Ava. Anthony stared at the act with wonder in his eyes. Watching the love of his life feeding his child was some kind of miracle. He thought again, how lucky he was to have all of this, and he told her so.

"I'm lucky too" she breathed out. "I never thought I could be so lucky."

Anthony placed featherlight kisses along her neck, until he reached her shoulder. He rested his chin there and they leaned into each other, enjoying the intimacy of the moment.

The next morning, Anthony had to leave for work early for an important meeting. Belle had woken up with him to give him a kiss goodbye, and proceeded to make a big breakfast for Nancy and Ben. Nancy woke shortly after from the smell of bacon sizzling on the skillet. Belle had Ava on the counter in strapped into her carseat. Belle smiled at Nancy who barely noticed her as she made her way over to stand in front of little Ava. Belle only chuckled and stated mixing the pancake batter.

"So what's with the big breakfast?" asked Nancy.

"Well" Belle began, "You've been a huge help these past two weeks, especially when it came to Ben. I know he's been getting the short end of the stick when it comes to attention. I hoping to spend a little quality time with both of my children today." Nancy could tell there was something else, so she raised an eyebrow at her soon to be daughter-in-law. "I was hoping the breakfast would persuade you to take a day off."

"I get it. You two need to do things on your own now." Belle shook her head.

"No. No that's not..." she trailed off when she noticed Nancy's expression.

"Dear, I was ready to leave after the first few days." Belle gasped, slightly offended. "I love my grandchildren dearly, but grandmothers are only meant to spoil. I was just waiting to see how long you would put up with me." Belle threw one of the dish rags at her, laughing.

"You have been a great help, truly. And we really appreciate everything. It's just time." Nancy nodded, and smiled brightly at her.

"I'll be gone after breakfast."

"Oh no, you don't need to rush, we aren't kicking you out" Belle rushed out, hoping she hadn't offended the woman.

"Relax Belle, I packed all of my belongings yesterday, you aren't rushing me." Belle visibly relaxed at that and when she heard little footsteps coming down the stairs she began to poor the pancake mix onto the skillet.

Ben raced into the kitchen clapping excitedly. "Mama you maken pancakes!" Belle flipped the pancakes before turning to him and lifting him up for the first proper hug she'd given him in a very long time. Ben didn't waste a second in basking in his mother's affections. Quickly nuzzling into her hair and tightening his grip around her neck. She reluctantly let him down, in favor of not letting the food burn.

Ben was being quite the chatterbox this morning. Talking about everything and nothing at the same time. He sat as close to Ava as he could, watching over her protectively as he talked. Belle admired the scene. She was so happy that Ben wasn't one of the jealous types. He loved his little sister just as much as she loved the two of them.

Nancy stayed long enough to be able to watch Ava while she cleaned all the syrup off of Ben and got him dressed. But after that she said her goodbyes. Ava was taking a nap in swing, and Ben was starting to play with his blocks. She joined him on the floor, spending the morning building castles with her son and watching her baby girl sleep soundly as they played.

After she had fed Ava, she made Ben a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Just as he was taking his first bite, the doorbell rang. "I wonder who that could be?" Belle said in a sing-song voice. She knew that Ruby was coming over, and she also knew that Ben had developed a little crush on her friend too. Ben shrugged his shoulders, and Belle placed Ava in her swing as she went to get the door. She was expecting Ruby, who she saw. What she wasn't expecting was Mary-Margaret, David, and Ashley standing behind her.

"Ruby... what are they doing here?" Belle's voice was a little panicky. After all, she wasn't on speaking terms with either of the three. To be perfectly honest, Ruby had done the least amount of damage to her heart. She didn't want them anywhere near her children. Realizing Ruby still hadn't answered her question, she repeated it.

Ruby glanced down at her feet, trying to avoid eye contact. "I told them you wouldn't want to see them, but they wouldn't take no for an answer." Belle's three ex-friends stared at her pleadingly. Knowing she couldn't leave her children inside alone while she stood on the porch and had a long heart-to-heart, she reluctantly invited them in. Ben heard Ruby's voice and came running to the door to greet her, he then grabbed her hand with his jelly covered one and dragged her into the living room where the castle he had built still stood.

Belle ignored the other three completely. They wanted to come here, they wanted to talk, so they could. Belle however, had not one single word to say. She picked Ava up out of her swing and made soft cooing noises at her while she walked into the kitchen to find Ben's mess. He had managed to get jelly handprints on almost every square inch of the table. She shook her head, "Ben! You made quite the mess in this kitchen young man." She soon heard her little man's footsteps coming her way.

He looked at the table and looked up at her with a very innocent expression on her face. "That not me" he protested.

Belle raised her eyebrow at him. "Oh no?" He shook his head. "Well then, who was it?" Ben looked around for someone to blame, and when he noticed the three strangers standing awkwardly in the doorway, he pointed at them. Belle followed his finger with an amused expression on her face. "So they covered my table in little boy handprints?" Ben seemed to ponder for a moment, before shaking his head yes. "Well, as much as I would love to have those three scrub every inch of this house for me, _you _are going to help me clean the table." Ben crossed his arms over his chest and huffed before grabbing the remains of his sandwich and throwing it away.

After the table and Ben's hands were clean, Belle sent him back to his Aunt Ruby to play. When she looked up to follow him she noticed the three, completely shocked expressions on the three idiots' faces.

"Belle... I don't know what to say" Mary-Margaret was the first to speak, but unable to find the proper words.

Belle just held up her hand to save all of them the breath. "I don't want to hear it. You were supposed to be my friends, and you deliberately hurt me. You were cruel and you sneered at my happiness" they hung their heads low. "I am happy. I have a beautiful family, a man who is as in love with me as I am him. A son who makes me smile brighter than I ever though possible. And now I have a beautiful daughter with that man. Ruby made an effort, to earn my forgiveness. She called me over and over, and when I didn't pick up she found me and forced her apology on me. Not once did any of you try to fix things between us."

David lifted his head to speak. "We just wanted what was best for you. We just didn't believe that... _this _was it." Belle stared him down, telling him silently to continue. "But now that I see it, I do believe. I'm very happy for you Belle." Mary-Margaret and Ashley repeated his sentiments, and all Belle could do was nod her head, still not in any mood to deal with them.

Lucky for her, Anthony walked through the back door, smiling like a lovestruck teenager. "I thought you weren't gonna be home for another three hours" Belle greeted him, giving him a firm kiss on the mouth, letting him take Ava from her.

"Well the meeting went well enough that I was able to leave. I was going to call, but thought a surprise would be better" he said as he leaned down to give his daughter a light kiss on the forehead. "Belle?" She looked up from the bundle in his arms, and into his eyes. "Who are these people?"


	15. Take Away My Pain

Anthony looked at the three, sensing their unease, he could tell nothing good would come of them. He stared down each one carefully. Observing their miniscule actions, and soaking in every single one of them. "Anthony?" Belle's voice broke him from his trance but he still didn't look away from them. "Why don't we go talk in the study?" He nodded, and wrapping his arm around her waist, let her lead him to the study.

He bounced Ava a bit, to keep her from getting fussy as Belle explained everything to him. "Why would you let them in?" He knew those were a poor choice of words the second he said them. Belle glared at him, shocked and frustrated. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just... I don't want to see you get hurt again. I hate seeing you hurt." Ava was starting to get fussy. It was time for her nap, but her parents needed to finish this discussion. Belle put her hands on her hips and moved across the room to be a bit further away from him.

"I don't want them here Anthony." He could sense the but that was about to follow, and did his best to prepare himself for it. "But let's face it, I don't have any friends except for Ruby. And I love you, and I know that I can talk with you about anything. But even if those three are still not supportive of me, I do need some sort of friendship. Please don't be angry with me." There were a couple tear drops rolling down Belle's cheek as she spoke and Anthony's heart broke for her. He stepped closer to her, and brushed away the tears with his thumb.

Belle leaned into his touch and then reached for Ava, knowing that holding her precious daughter would make her smile, no matter how down she was. "I'm sorry, love. This is really all my fault." Belle looked at him with shock.

"_You _Anthony Gold, are the best thing that could have ever happened to me. You gave me the family I'd always dreamt of having" she gestured towards Ava. "And if I hadn't fallen in love with you I'd probably be back in an abusive relationship without anyone there to help or care about me." She gave him a shrug, looking down at Ava. "I know that those three aren't the ideal friends, but at least it's something." Anthony placed a lingering kiss on her forehead, before leading her out of the study so she could put Ava down for her nap.

Ruby was still in the living room playing with Ben and it looked as though the other three had joined her. While Belle was upstairs, Anthony had the perfect opportunity to discreetly threaten the idiots before she got back. He said a quick hello to Ben and Ruby before turning his attention to Belle's 'friends'. "We haven't been properly introduced, I'm Anthony." He didn't extend a hand to shake, and they seemed to accept that.

"I'm Mary-Margaret, this is David, and Ashley." Mary said pointing to each of them. "I'm afraid we don't really know anything about each other." She was trying to be friendly, Anthony realized. He wasn't ready to buy the act just yet though.

"I wouldn't say that, I know that you three were the main cause that Belle came home in tears one afternoon, because you lot had told her that she was crazy and that Gavin, the man who beat her and _raped_ her, was the man that she should be with." The three tried to avoid his gaze, but it was pointless. "Let's see what else did you say?" He pretended to ponder that question before continuing his rant. "Oh that's right, you also said that she was only fucking me because she had daddy issues, and I was the father she never had. Now if my calculations are correct, I'm only ten years older than Belle, so how exactly could I be her father?" They remained silent, Mary-Margaret and David looking ashamed, but Ashley's expression remained passive.

"You don't know the first thing about Belle. That's not an observation, that's a fact. She wants to give you a second chance, so you're welcome here... for now." Some of the tension in their shoulders seemed to release at that, but Anthony wasn't done. "But, if you hurt her again, you can guarantee that it will be the biggest regret of you pathetic little lives." Mary-Margaret gulped in fear and David grabbed her hand. Ashley had no physical reaction, her facial expression still passive.

When Belle made her way back downstairs she could see how shaken Mary-Margaret was and her eyes immediately went to Anthony who was on the floor with their son. She knew he had said something, and while she should probably be at least a little upset, she was actually grateful. However, if she wanted to have a real talk with them, Anthony would need to leave. Otherwise they would be looking at him every time they wanted to say something.

She crouched down beside Anthony, and asked him to take Ben to the park while she talked to them. He argued you at first, but when she reminded him that Ruby would still be here, and that he was barely a ten minute walk away, he took Ben, against his better judgement, to the park.

When he was gone, Mary-Margaret relaxed almost immediately. They sat down, spread out in the living room. Holding onto the baby monitor was actually helping Belle to calm down. She hated using her daughter as an excuse to leave so early in the game but if this discussion blew up in her face, she would just add it to the long list of reasons she loved Ava.

Mary-Margaret broke the silence. "Belle, I know that what we said to you, can never be taken back, but I wish it could." Belle kept her eyes focused on the monitor, praying that her perfect baby girl would actually wake up from her nap for once. "We just, thought that he was using you. It seems so stupid now because I mean it's you, you would never let yourself get played like that. We were idiots. Sorry isn't enough to make up for how we hurt you, but I hope it can at least start."

Belle fiddled with the volume, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of accepting their attempts to make amends. "And for what it's worth, that Anthony seems like he takes really good care of you, and I can tell now how happy he makes you. I just wish we had seen it before." David's voice was laced with regret. Belle could tell that him and Mary-Margaret were truly, deeply sorry for how they hurt her. Ashley, however, was still emotionless.

David nudged her, and she glared at him before turning to Belle with a smirk. "You were always someone I looked up to Belle," well that sounds sincere Belle thought."Then you met Gavin, and then you left Gavin because he wanted to have sex with you."

"You have no idea..." Belle started, but she was cut off by an enraged Ashley.

"You're 22! You're too young to be a mother. You're too young to be playing this stupid game that you've started. That asshole that you're so 'in love with' was probably just looking for some poor pathetic little girl to come play house for his son! Then when you got yourself knocked up he didn't have a choice but to buy you a ring. All he is, is a good actor. And you, Belle, you're just a fool."

Belle's jaw dropped to the floor, unable to speak. Ruby's had joined hers along with David and Mary-Margaret. "You really think he loves you? You really think he thinks of you as more than a good fuck? So what, you had his kid, she's just a bastard and..." The next thing heard throughout the room was the sound of a bone cracking.

Belle shook her hand out, flexing her fingers and rubbing her knuckles. Ashley cradled her nose, trying to stop the bleeding. "You crazy bitch!"

"The next time you think about calling my daughter a bastard, don't. Because I can guarantee you'll be getting a lot worse than a broken nose. Get. Out." Belle kept her stance, watching Ashley crawl by her on the way to the door. She looked back over her shoulder at her friends but they shared the same look as Belle. Ashley left without a word, slamming the door behind her, hard enough to shake the ceiling fans, and Ava still didn't wake up.

That didn't stop Belle from running up to her though. She stood over her crib, resting her hand against Ava's chest to feel her heartbeat. A single tear ran down her cheek. She couldn't cry now though, not with them downstairs and Anthony due home in ten minutes. She would wait until she was alone tomorrow, she didn't Anthony to remind her of what she already knew yet again. She knew he loved her, worshiped her even. Ashley's words were nothing more than evil tools trying to pry away her happiness. So why did she feel fear stirring up inside of her.

There was a light knock on the door, when she turned around she found Ruby leaning against the door frame. Belle tried to give her a smile, but failed miserably. "It was a great hit" Ruby commented. "Nothing she didn't deserve. I'm just sorry you beat me to it." Belle laughed on the inside, but not a squeak of happiness left her mouth. Ruby looked down at her feet, playing with her bracelets. "We were gonna go, we figured you had enough visiting time today." Belle nodded, turning back to Ava before whispering a thank you.

She stayed that way, hovering over the crib until Anthony got home with an exhausted Ben. After he put the boy down for a nap, he joined Belle in the nursery. "So? How did it go?" Belle huffed, a breathy, sarcastic laugh. "What? What did they say to you?" Anthony's voice had gained an edgy tone. He knew something had happened, now he had to find out what.

Belle turned to him, the tears steadily falling down her cheeks. She didn't say a word, simply grabbed his hand and lead him to their bedroom. "Belle, you need to tell me what happened." Instead of answering his questions she wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him into a passionate kiss. He responded almost immediately, pushing her back onto the bed, slipping a hand under her shirt to unclasp her bra while she pushed off his suit jacket and unbuttoned his shirt. They hadn't had sex of any kind in over two weeks, which was a new record for them. He needed her as badly as she needed him, but his logical side screamed a him to stop. "Belle, wait." She stared up at him disappointed and a little hurt. "Love, you just had a baby, are you sure you're ready for this. I mean we haven't had your doctor's appointment yet, I just don't want to hurt you." Belle's hurt had gone away, but her disappointment lingered.

"I need you to take the pain away" she whispered brokenly. Anthony looked down at her, wanting to ask questions, but knowing he wouldn't get answers. She looked so fragile in his arms then.

"Well that I can do." She seemed to brighten up a bit at that, and captured his mouth in another searing kiss. They would talk after. Then he would know who's head he needed served on a golden platter.


	16. Going Up In Flames

The rest of the day had been uneventful. Anthony tried to get Belle to open up to him about what had happened while he was at the park, but she refused to tell him anything. So now, after putting their children to sleep, Belle sat cross legged on the bed, wearing nothing but Anthony's shirt with a book in her hand. Anthony slipped behind her and she instinctively melted into him. He didn't say anything, just wrapped his arms around her and let her know that he was there for her whenever she was ready. She closed her book and turned into his chest, letting her tears soak his shirt. He ran his finger through her hair, hoping it would soothe her. Then the silent tears, turned into sobs, and the sobbing turned into coughing, and the coughing turned into hiccups. "Do you want me to get you a glass of water?" Anthony asked sweetly. Belle nodded her head and he made his way down to the kitchen.

The glass was nearly full when he heard a crash from the direction of the living room. Then, in a blink of an eye, bright orange flames erupted from the front of the house and his whole world was falling apart. He heard Belle scream to him from the top of the stairs. A blood-curdling screech that scared him more than the fire. Anthony wearing nothing but an old t-shirt and his boxers, jumped through a wall of flames to get to the stairs. He had burns all over his body, the worst ones on his legs. With every step he could feel his skin blistering. The sting from the burns numbing his mind of all thought. He stumbled up the stairs, to find Belle ushering Ben into their bedroom with a screaming Ava in her arms buried underneath a wet cloth. Anthony looked back down, watching as the flames ate the entire first floor of their home. They had to think quick if they wanted to get out of here. He practically fell into the room, kicking the door shut behind him. Belle rushed over to him, trying to help him stand back up.

"Anthony! Oh god, Anthony. What are we gonna do?" Belle was frantic, she had more tears running down her face now, but this time they were from fear. Anthony wasn't sure what to say he looked around the room, looked at Ben's terrified expression, looked at his screaming 2 week old baby laying on the bed, and then he looked to the window. That window was their only chance. Just like that, a light bulb went off, he had a plan.

"We need to tie up the sheets. And then we'll escape out the window." Belle's eyes widened, before she helped him into a standing position, and as quickly as they could they tied the sheets on their bed, plus the extras in the closet into a rope, long enough to use to escape. "Alright you take Ava, and I'll lower you down."

Belle shook her head, "No. No you go first, you're hurt it'll be easier for you if I lower you."

"I'm not gonna argue with you about this!" The ferocity in his voice made Belle jump. "If I let anything happen to you, I would never forgive myself. Now get Ava." Belle got Ava, and rested her on her shoulder, keeping an extremely firm grip on both her and the rope, she climbed over the edge of the window. She glanced back at Anthony who had Ben plastered to his side. He lowered his girls down to the ground as quickly and as carefully as he possible could. As soon as Belle's feet were on the ground he pulled the rope back up and tied it around Ben's waist and instructed his son to hold as tightly as he could to the rope until he was in his mama's arms. With one last kiss to his forehead, Anthony lowered his son down to safety. The pain from his burns was starting to get to him, as well as the black smoke that was beginning to fill the room.

"Anthony! Anthony jump!" Belle's voice was becoming quieter and quieter as he hung out of the window, trying not to inhale the smoke. He was becoming weaker by the second. His senses slipping away from him. He was putting all of his energy into getting out of the window but his legs were like two ton weights. He heard the faint whistle of sirens. "Anthony jump!"

"Belle?" he coughed out, not loud enough for her to hear. Belle was asking him to do something and he wouldn't disappoint her. With every ounce of strength he had left in his body he let himself fall from the window, and then everything went black.

The next thing he heard was the beeping of hospital machines. He felt a hand wrapped tightly around his own. He opened his eyes slowly, hoping to see some kind of familiar scenery. The first thing he saw was a white wall, with nothing on it but a clock. It was 1:37. Obviously in the afternoon because of the sunlight streaming in through the window. He saw the machines next to his bed, the oxygen tubes in his nostrils, and the extensive bandages on his legs. He was in the hospital. Belle had her head resting on the side of the bed, her hand clutching his with all her might. He noticed the soft rise and fall of her chest, she was asleep. He didn't really want to disturb her, but he knew how worried she must've been, so he gave her hand a hard squeeze. Sure enough that small movement was enough to make her jerk her head up. She had been crying. Her eyes were puffy and blood-shot and she had dried tear stains running down her cheeks.

The smile she gave him was probably the brightest one he'd ever seen, even though she looked about ready to cry. "You're okay" she choked out.

Anthony pulled her closer and kissed her with all the strength he could muster before falling back into the pillow, exhausted. "Of course I'm okay. I promised you'd never lose me, I don't break my promises."

Belle still wasn't so sure about it. "The doctor told me to get him once you woke up, I'll be right back. Then we'll see just how okay you are" she said teasingly.

He wouldn't let go of her hand though. "Are Ben and Ava alright?" Belle smiled reassuringly.

"Because of you they are" she leaned over to give him a chaste kiss. "You're our hero Anthony."

With that said she left in search of his doctor. As soon as she left, Nancy walked in with Ben, who ran right up to his bed and stood in the chair that Belle was just sitting in. "Papa okay?" Anthony patted the small space on the edge of the bed, motioning for his son to sit with him.

Ben eagerly climbed over onto the bed to cuddle up next to Anthony. Anthony winced at the contact for a moment, thanking God that his worst burns were on his legs and not his torso. "I'm okay Ben. Everything is okay now." Ben rested his head over Anthony's heart, listening to his heart beat when Belle returned with the doctor.

"Good to see you awake" he said, looking a bit unsure about Ben sitting on the bed with him. "As sorry as I am to say this, you do have a pretty nasty burn on your arm and I don't think your son should be sitting so close, I know how awful that must feel but I don't want to risk him accidentally touching your burns." Anthony nodded reluctantly, and gave Ben one last kiss to the forehead before Belle picked him off of the bed.

"So, how bad are the burns?" Anthony asked. All eyes in the room went to the doctor.

"Well, your legs are the worst. You have patches of strong second degree burns all along your left leg. Your right leg doesn't have as many burns as your left, but the major one that it does have is third degree. Now that is going to take quite a while to heal completely. Until I think you can manage it by yourself at home you'll be staying in the hospital. Your left arm is covered in first degree burns which aren't a major concern. As long as you don't irritate them further those should heal within a week." He paused to let the information sink in. "You also inhaled a lot of smoke, so we are monitoring your breathing very closely. We don't want you walking so we have already given you a catheter. We have you on a strong dose of pain medication. It'll lessen after a couple of days. If you feel the meds wearing off, don't hesitate to call the nurse. Don't try to deal with the pain, we want you to be as comfortable as possible. Do you have any questions?"

Anthony took a deep breath, trying to absorb everything the doctor had said. It seemed like he had been here for awhile. He only had one question though. "Where is Ava?"

Belle stepped forward, "She's in the baby ward. They decided to keep her under constant watch for twenty-four hours since we were unsure if she inhaled a lot of smoke or not, since she's only weeks old they wanted to be extra cautious." She could see the worry on his face and immediately told him not to worry. "It's nothing to be worried about. They wouldn't have even bothered with it if Ava wasn't so young. Please don't worry, you'll see her tomorrow I promise."

Anthony sighed, "Alright." Belle smiled at him and thanked the doctor. Belle took her previous seat next to his bed with Ben in her lap. Nancy pulled up a chair to sit next to Belle. This was the first time he had really looked at Belle, she was wearing scrubs and Ben had on new pajamas. The house. Oh God, how could he forget about the fucking house? "Belle?" She looked up from Ben to him. "How bad was it?" Even though he was being vague, Belle knew exactly what he meant.

"I don't want you to think about that right now" she insisted. He tried to protest, but Belle cut him off. "No. All I want you to think about is getting better. Can you do that?"

"No I can't. Not until I know how bad the damage is." There must've been something in his eyes because Belle stopped arguing with him.

"They said there was nothing salvageable" she said in a hushed, despaired voice. "We were lucky everything really important was in a fireproof lockbox." Anthony made a pained noise, letting his head fall back against the pillows. "It wasn't an accident. Someone threw some kind of flare bomb through the window."

Anthony's nostrils flared in anger. "My guess is that it was either Gavin, Myranda, Ashley, or any combination of the three."

"Now hold on" Belle said, "I'm all for assuming Gavin and Myranda, but why would you guess Ashley?" Anthony was about to state the reasons, but Belle continued. "I mean, I know she doesn't exactly approve of our relationship, and yes I might have punched her and broken her nose, but Ashley isn't evil enough to try and kill us. Never mind our children."

Anthony was about to comment, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Moe French walked through the door, slowly and unsure. "Dad? You came" Belle said, a hint of relief in her voice.

Anthony stared at her in disbelief. Moe kind of stayed in the doorway. "Of course" he said. "I know we've had a rough few years but you're still my daughter. I'm so glad you're okay." Belle smiled. He was really trying. Him coming to the hospital proved that. He looked at Anthony, "Thank you" he said in his most sincere voice.

Anthony nodded to him. "I'm happy you came" he said.

Maurice turned back to Belle, "I'm afraid I have some awful news to deliver." Belle's eyes widened.

"What?" she asked.

Maurice shifted his feet, uncomfortable with the situation. "You know that, I was in cahoots with Gavin at the start of you relationship" they nodded, and Moe continued. "Well, after I came to see you, when you were still pregnant, I told him to leave you alone. I told him that you were happy and that I wanted you to be with Anthony. At first he agreed, but a few weeks ago he came to me and said that he was sending you pictures, to try and convince Anthony that you were cheating on him."

Anthony scoffed, "Yeah we got those. It was obvious they were fake."

Moe held up his hand to stop him from going on. "That's not all. He said you wouldn't believe the pictures, and that they would just act as a temporary distraction. He said the only way to get Belle away from you was to get rid of you. I think Gavin set the fire."

Belle gave her father a pained smile. "Yeah, we kind of guessed that."

"I'll talk to the police or testify, whatever you need me to do I'll do it" Moe declared. "I know this doesn't make up for what I've done, but it's a start." Belle reached a hand to her father and he took it. "If you need any money..."

"Dad... I know you don't have that much. We'll be fine. If we need any of that kind of help, we'll let you know." Maurice slumped his shoulders, and Belle gave him a bright smile.

"You haven't seen your granddaughter yet!" Belle exclaimed. Moe looked stunned, as if he had forgotten that she had already given birth. She stood out of the chair and looked to Ben, "You wanna go visit your sister?" Ben nodded his head. Belle gave Anthony kiss, "I want you to get some rest. Promise me you'll at least try to anyway?"

"I promise, love" he vowed.

Belle lead her father out of the room and down the hall to the elevators. After going up to the third floor Belle took a right out of the elevator and continued down the hall until she came to the pediatric section of the hospital. After reaching Ava's room, she said hello to the nurse sitting with her. "We weren't sure if she inhaled a lot of smoke, so they are monitoring her breathing as a precaution" Belle explained to her father. Ben jumped out of Belle's arms so he could run up to his baby sister's crib. "Can I hold her?" Belle asked, unsure if she was allowed.

"Of course" the nurse assured her.

Belle picked up her daughter and showed her off proudly to her father. She grabbed one of Ava's hands and pretended that she was waving hello to Moe, "Say hi to your grandpa, Ava." Moe flinched at the name, memories of his wife flooding his mind. But when he saw how bright his granddaughter's eyes were, and how much she resembled Belle, the name suddenly meant nothing to him.

"She's perfect Belle" he whispered. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you Belle. But I promise I'll be the best grandfather I can be to my granddaughter." Belle had a tear running down her cheek. He had made promises before, all of which he'd broken. But this time... this time she could tell he meant it.


	17. Nervous Wrecks and Motherly Chats

"What the fuck is the matter with you?!" Myranda ran over to Gavin, slapping him, punching him, whatever she could do to physically damage him in some way, she did it. "My son was in that house! You could've killed him!"

Gavin pushed her off nonchalantly. "Please, I knew the bastard would get his precious family to safety" he paused to straighten his shirt. "you had nothing to worry about."

Myranda looked up to him, disgusted. He really was a monster. "There was a two week old baby sleeping in that house, and a three year old boy. You would't have cared. If those infants had died, you wouldn't have cared" her voice was quiet, almost not believing the truth she was speaking.

Gavin got a smug look on his face. "Of course not. They don't mean anything to me, and besides, if their kids had died, they definitely wouldn't have lasted." Myranda wanted to kill him, but if she did, nothing would get resolved, she had to play this game perfectly if she was going to win. "Then Belle would've been mine again. She wouldn't have had an option. Don't think I don't know what's going through your head" Gavin leaned in close to her ear. "You wanna go tell on me? Go ahead, but remember, you were a part of this. You ever want to be a part of your son's life, you'll keep your mouth shut."

Without saying another word, Myranda left Gavin's apartment, trying to figure out her next move. Leaving Gavin standing there, celebrating the fact that he won round one.

xxxxxxxxxx

At the hospital, Belle sat by Anthony's bedside, holding his hand and trying to entertain a very confused Ben. Ava made it through the night without difficulty, but Belle hadn't gone to retrieve her just yet. It wasn't like they really had anywhere to put her anyway. They were confined to a hospital room for the moment. She would go get her as soon as Anthony became too annoying.

Anthony was being stubborn about his pain medication, just like Belle knew he'd be. When he winced, she went into full force panic mode. "Anthony, call the nurse. I can tell you're in pain and you aren't doing us any favors by pretending not to be."

"I'll call the nurse, as soon as I get to hold my daughter" he countered.

Belle glared at him. "You are not using our daughter as a bargaining chip. Call the nurse and have her give you another dose. Please. I don't want to see you anymore pain."

Anthony sighed and rolled his eyes, but pressed the call button. "I think we both know we're all going to be in pain for awhile." Belle's eyes dropped, not being able to look at him anymore. Because he was right, and she hated that he was right. "Hey... Belle look at me" she lifted her gaze. "I love you. We'll get through this, I promise you."

Belle looked over to where Ben was playing on the floor. He seemed distracted enough. Belle looked over Anthony, taking in every bandage, every scrape, every tube, listening to every heartbeat. Tears welled up in her eyes and Anthony became very nervous. "Love, what's wrong?"

Belle wiped at her eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling. "I... I could've... I could've lost you Anthony! We all came so close to losing you! I watched you fall from a second floor window. Do you have any idea how terrifying that was? What if the firemen hadn't gotten in there in time? You could have broken your neck! Do you even realize that you're sitting in a hospital bed with severe burns that might take more than a month to heal properly? Why won't you just suck up your pride and call the damn nurse when you're in pain!?" Her tears were gone, replaced with frustration.

The nurse walked in shortly after, giving Anthony another dose of the medication. When she left, he looked into Belle's sad eyes, finally realizing exactly what she must have gone through. "I'm sorry Belle. I guess I wasn't really thinking." Belle squeezed his hand and smiled at him.

"Why don't I go get Ava." Anthony's eyes brightened at the thought of seeing his little girl, all in one piece. "Ben? Wanna go get Ava with me?" Ben rushed over to Belle's side and grabbed her hand, tugging her out the door. Anthony let his head rest against the pillows, letting his eyes slip shut for a quick power nap before his family returned.

He ended up waking up about an hour later, with Ben asleep in the oversized armchair in the corner of the room, and Belle feeding Ava in the fold-up chair next to his bed. He reached up to rub his eyes, then remembering his right arm was covered in burns, winced and dropped his arm. Belle watched his facial expression change and became very nervous.

"Are you alright? Do you need me to get the nurse?" She asked as she switched Ava to her other breast.

Anthony bit his lip from the slight pain, "No love, I just forgot I was practically an invalid." His voice was cutting and bitter, making Belle flinch. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm just a little frustrated."

Belle smiled sadly at him. "It'll get better. It's just gonna take some time" Anthony sighed and let his eyes stray to Ava. "I'll be here every step of the way. I'm not going to leave your side, ever. I promise." Ava pulled away from Belle with a full stomach and Belle pulled her shirt down and rested Ava over her shoulder to burp her.

"Have you.. have you called the insurance?" Belle gave him a stern look. "I know you don't want me to stress over anything, but in this situation I think it's fair to say not stressing is impossible. Please Belle, just tell me what they said" he pleaded with her.

"They'll cover most of the damages. We have to rebuild, there's no other option. Unless you want to move closer to town. Considering why all of this happened I think moving closer to town might be the smartest plan" she explained, now waiting for a response.

"I agree. If we are close to town there's a better chance of Gavin getting caught if he tries something like this again. Are there any houses for sale?" he asked.

Ava let out a huge burp and Belle giggled, making cooing noises at her daughter, getting rewarded with a smile. "There is one. It's the pink house at the end of town, by that old pawn shop. No one's lived there for years. It's a little smaller than the old house but it seems nice."

Anthony nodded soaking in all of this information. "I don't very much like the idea of living in a pink house, but I suppose I could manage. You should take my mother or Ruby and go see it" Belle shook her head at his suggestion.

"I'm not leaving you here, end of discussion." Her voice was strong and very definite.

"Belle, if you take Ruby I won't be alone, I'll have mom to keep me company."

Belle glared at him. "No! I'm not leaving this hospital until you can leave with me."

"Belle... if your afraid that something might happen, you shouldn't be. I'm very well protected here. We all can't stay at my mother's apartment when I'm ready to be discharged. We need a place to live" he tried convincing her, but it just made her even more upset.

"If it was me in that bed, and I was telling you to leave me here so you could go look at a stupid house, would you listen to me?" She got him there.

"Of course I wouldn't" he huffed.

"Then why should I listen to you?"

Anthony didn't have an answer for her. This really was a pointless argument, they both knew that Belle wasn't going anywhere. "Maybe, my mom can take Ben and look at the house for us" he suggested. Belle tilted her head to the side, thinking about his new proposal.

"I trust your mom" she finally said. "We can order furniture online so we can both have a say in that. You don't think she'd mind?"

Almost as if she knew she was being discussed, Nancy walked in with some snacks from the vending machine. Belle and Anthony both stared at her. "Was I interrupting something?" she asked innocently.

"No, not at all. We were actually just talking about you" Belle said.

Nancy raised an eyebrow, "Nothing too terrible I hope" she joked.

Anthony laughed, "Never. Actually we were wondering if you could do us a favor."

Nancy bent down to take Ava from Belle so she could eat, "Of course. Anything at all, no questions asked."

Anthony looked to Belle, who got the hint that it was her job to ask. She rolled her eyes at him and turned to Nancy. "Well, we've decided to move rather than to rebuild. We were wondering if you wouldn't mind going to look at the house for us. I'm not leaving Anthony's side and we trust your judgement. You could take Ben with you too, see what he thinks of it."

Nancy's eyes widened for a moment, "Which house is it?"

Anthony made a displeased face, "It's the pink house next to the old pawn shop" he gritted out.

Nancy stifled her laugh. "I'd be honored. I'll take Ben tomorrow if you'd like."

Belle smiled warmly at her. "Thank you so much Nancy. You have no idea how much this means to me."

Belle then excused herself, wanting to talk to the doctor more about Anthony. Nancy saw her son's expression and knew that he had something on his mind. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

Anthony didn't know where to start. "It's Belle. She only leaves this room if I'm asleep or if you're in here. She yelled at me for not calling the nurse when I started to feel a little bit of pain. And just now I moved my arm a little too much and when I winced she looked like she was going to start crying. And now she's off to find the doctor to here exactly what he told us yesterday, as if something about my condition has changed. I'm fine, I don't know why she's so worried." Anthony took a deep breath in and waited for his mother to yell at him too.

Nancy sat down in the chair Belle was previously occupying. "I know son." Anthony was surprised to have her agreeing with him. "There's something you don't know, though." Anthony stayed silent, a little worried about what she was going to say. "Throughout your whole relationship, Belle has been worried about losing you" Anthony was about to protest, but Nancy held up her hand to stop him. "She has never felt worthy of you. Some of the things that little tart said to her didn't help much either" she said under her breath. "She is constantly worried about losing you. You, you're everything to her. You're her entire world. Watching you nearly die, in that fire, brought her deepest fear to life. When they first brought you in, you were unconscious. Your heart rate was slow and you weren't breathing on your own. They wouldn't let Belle see you until about ten minutes before you woke up."

"No, but she told me she had stayed with me all night" Anthony said.

"She did. Sitting outside the doors of the ICU. Anthony, Belle has never known what it's like to have a family. A real family. You know that. To her, you asking her to leave you, is the equivalent to telling her to just leave altogether."

Anthony shook his head in frustration. "That's ridiculous, she knows that..."

"I know. I know it's ridiculous, but that's how she sees it" Nancy told him.

"How do you know all of this about Belle, she said I was the only one she ever talked to about her family."

Nancy shrugged. "A person, any person is willing to reveal a lot about their past when their sitting on a hospital floor waiting to see if their fiance survives the night or not" she stated bluntly. "And you think it's bad that you can't hold them? Imagine how we feel, not being allowed to touch you." She left him with that thought. Placing, the now sleeping Ava in the hospital's crib that Belle convinced them to put in his room. The sound of the door closing broke his train of thought.

Just as soon as it closed, it opened. This time Belle was the one who entered, doctor in tow. Anthony took in her appearance. Not just her tired eyes, and ruffled clothing. He really looked at her, and he realized then that every word his mother said was right. Her hands were shaking as she fiddled with her engagement ring. She had dark circles around her eyes, so thick she must not have slept at all since he was admitted. She must have been staying up to watch him, to make sure that nothing else happened to him. Her bouncy curls were flat, and her lips were chapped. She looked like she was about to breakdown. Then he saw how she was looking at him, like he was about to disappear. Like he was on his deathbed and she was trying to figure out what to say to him before he left. She didn't look like Belle at all. There had to be something he could do to make her see that he felt the same way about her. He had to prove to her that when he promised he'd never leave her, he meant it.


	18. Time to Make a Deal

Two weeks had passed since the fire. They had placed a down payment on the pink house and the pawn shop. Anthony thought it might be a good investment. They had picked out their new furniture online and Nancy was waiting at their new home now for the delivery. She had taken Ben with her to get him out of the hospital.

Anthony was healing faster than expected. He had full mobility in his arm and the second degree burns on his left leg had cleared up into first degree burns, so that was good. The third degree burn on his right leg though, was still pretty nasty. He had tried walking with it but it was too painful and ended up having to use crutches to get up and down the hall.

Ava was down for a nap, so that left Belle and Anthony completely alone for the first time in weeks. He was sitting up in bed, which Belle was a little wary of, but the doctor recommended it so she let it slide. Belle was holding his hand, drawing soothing patterns on his palm. "Belle?" she snapped out of her trance and looked up at Anthony. "You have a little something on your face" she reaches up to try and feel for anything foreign. "No, come here, I'll get it for you." Without question she leans in, and he reaches up to cup her face pulling her down and into a passionate kiss.

She pulled away laughing at his behavior. "If you wanted a kiss, all you had to do was ask" she told him.

"Where's the fun in that?" he asked her. "Besides, I thought you liked a good surprise."

She narrowed her eyes, but the the smile never left her face. Anthony's hand still rested on her cheek, he had been trying to convince her all day to sit in the bed with him. "Please love, I just want to hold you" he pleaded with her.

"But your leg..."

"Is almost completely healed. And you won't be anywhere near my right leg, please? Please just let me hold you." The look in his eyes must have been desperate enough to convince her because she removed her shoes and sat cautiously on the edge of the bed, still not leaning into him. "Belle. You can touch me you know. I want you to." She let out a sigh and leaned back into his embrace. Both his arms came around her and when he kissed the top of her head she melted into him.

"I missed this" she confessed. Anthony groaned as he let his fingers sneak up her shirt. He bent his head down so he could nip at her neck, causing little sighs and moans to escape her. "Anthony, if you keep doing that I'm not going to be able to resist you much longer" she confessed, slightly embarrassed. Instead of heeding her warning he began to suck a little more vigorously on her pulse point. "Anthony... you need to stop" she said arching into him.

"But why?" he asked peppering the little bruise he just created with soft kisses.

"You're still hurt" she tried to remind him.

He kissed the shell of her ear. "But you're not." Belle moaned loudly as one of his hands came up to knead her breast. "Just because you can't pleasure me, doesn't mean I can't pleasure you."

Belle shuddered at his words. "We're still in a hospital, anyone could walk _in_" she screeched out the last word as she felt his fingers slip into her pants."Anthony!" she yelped as he brushed against her clit. "Oh God" she moaned, trying to keep her voice down, but Anthony was being merciless. "Please" she begged.

Anthony smirked, "please what, my love?" Belle bit her lip to keep from screaming when he inserted one finger into her. Then he stopped his motions.

"No. No please... please Anthony. I need... make me come. Please" she panted in frustration. Anthony smiled against her neck before continuing on with pleasuring her. He inserted a second finger and she thrusted down against his hand. "So.. close" she moaned. Anthony placed open mouth kisses along her neck as he put more pressure on her clit making her scream.

"I love you" he whispered, sucking on her ear lobe. At that she came undone. Anthony removed his hand from her pants, and not one second later the nurse ran into the room.

"What's going on in here? I heard scream..." she took one look at Belle's disheveled appearance, fresh hickey on her neck, face reddened, breathing labored, and she knew. "Oh. I'm so sorry to disturb you." She then ran out of the room.

Belle leaned against Anthony was trying not to burst out laughing. "I'm so embarrassed." Belle covered her eyes with her hand, still trying to calm down from her high. "I can't believe that just happened" she groaned.

Anthony leaned forward, resting his head against her neck. "I can" he chuckled. "You are a rather wanton wife, love" he told her. Belle stiffened, then turned her head and pulled away to look at him.

Anthony looked at her, apology in his eyes. "Did you just call me your wife?" she asked him, her expression unreadable.

Anthony smiled at her, "You _are_ my wife Belle. I don't need to put a ring on your finger to prove that" he said shyly. His eyes had gravitated toward her engagement ring. "I love you. I'll love you forever, no matter what happens. You'll always be my wife" he whispered passionately into her ear.

There were tears visible in her eyes. This was all too much for her. "You'll always be my husband" she told him, choking on her words. She fell into his arms, holding him tightly. "I thought I lost you, Anthony. I was so scared. You can't scare me like that again. I can't... I can't live without you" she whispered brokenly.

Anthony rubbed her back trying to calm her down. "Shhh... it's okay, love. I'm here, I'll always be right here. I can't live without you either." They stayed that way for a while. Holding each other and whispering sweet words of love to each other.

There was a soft knock at the door. "It's probably that poor nurse" Belle said wiping away the last of her tears. "You can come in" she called, not wanting to move from Anthony's arms. The door opened to reveal Ruby. Belle smiled at the sight of her friend.

"I would've come sooner, but those bitch nurses wouldn't let me visit, and you didn't pick up your cell for obvious reasons. I'm so glad you're both alright" she said walking over to the bed to give Belle a hug. "Where are the little ones?"

"Nancy took Ben to our new house to wait for a delivery. Ava's down for a nap, I should actually go get her, she'll need to eat soon." Reluctantly, Belle got off the bed. "Will you watch him while I'm gone? Make sure he doesn't get into trouble?" she asked Ruby.

"It'd be my pleasure" Ruby laughed. When Belle had left, Ruby sat down in the chair next to his bed. "So, you got burned pretty bad, huh?" Anthony nodded. "You're a real hero, you know that?" Anthony smiled, but said nothing, not sure how to respond to that comment. "I know I've already said this, but I'm so happy that Belle found you."

"I'm lucky she did. I can't even remember life before Belle, it's like... she's been here this whole time" he tried to explain. "I know that sounds crazy."

Ruby was about to comment when Belle walked in with Ava and Dr. Whale. "You look well today Anthony" he said. "Well enough, to hold your daughter again." He gestured to Belle who placed Ava in Anthony's arms. She squirmed a little, wrapping her hand around her father's finger and looking up at him with her big blue eyes.

Anthony looked ready to cry, having been unable to hold either of his children for the past two weeks. He'd been watching from a distance, and occasional kiss on their foreheads, but he hadn't _held_ them. "The nurse gave me some formula, you can feed her if you want" Belle told him.

"You don't mind?" he asked hopefully, never taking his eyes off of his daughter.

Belle laughed, "Of course I don't mind." She went into her bag to get the formula, "I'll go get her bottle ready" she told him.

"I'll come with you" Ruby jumped up from the chair. The two women left, leaving the men alone, aside from little Ava of course.

"So, Anthony, how are your burns feeling today?" he asked as he began to remove one of the bandages, to get a better look.

"They feel fine" Anthony said. Whale examined his left leg seeming pleased. He left the bandage off. Then he went to his right leg, he carefully pulled up the gauze to reveal the still rather nasty burn around his calf and ankle. After a few moments he re-bandaged it.

"Well your left leg is healing nicely. I'd like to keep the bandage off and let it breathe a little. The nurse will come in every four or five hours to apply a cream to keep the skin from drying up." Anthony nodded his head, understanding, but he sensed there was something else. "Your right leg isn't healing as fast as we'd like it. It's made very little progress in the past two weeks. Looking at it now, I think there might be an infection." Anthony's eyes widened in terror. "Now, relax, it's nothing major. I just think that I should re-clean the wound and start you on a low dosage of antibiotics."

"Alright" Anthony agreed. "How much is this gonna hurt?" he asked.

Whale's lips formed a straight line and he shook his head. "It depends on you pain tolerance, but it will hurt. When I first cleaned it, you were unconscious. I can numb you, but I can't give you anesthetics" he said.

"When will you do this?" he asked.

"Tomorrow morning work for you?" he asked, trying to get rid of some of the tension in the room.

"What's happening tomorrow morning?" Belle asked from the doorway. She looked back in forth between the two. Whale made his excuses and left the room, leaving Anthony to explain.

"The good news," he started, "is that my left leg is well enough to be without bandages."

Belle smiled carding her fingers through his hair, handing him Ava's bottle. He brought it to her lips and she sucked on it hungrily. "The bad news, is that my right leg needs to be cleaned again. Whale thinks there might be a tiny infection, but he's not sure since I haven't experienced any symptoms. It's just a precaution since the burn's not healing as well as he's like" he rushed out.

Belle became worried very quickly. "Well, are you gonna be alright? Is it going to hurt?"

Anthony watched as Ava drank from her bottle, mesmerized. "It shouldn't be too terrible" he lied to her. "I'll be fine Belle." She looked at him warily, but accepted his hard-headedness anyway.

Ruby decided to leave as soon as Ava finished eating, wanting to give them some family time. Nancy returned with Ben, who was very excited about his new jungle bed. Nancy had picked up some dinner for them. Finally something besides hospital food. Belle had Ava bundled up in her arms, asleep, as she ate her food with one hand.

Then, there was another knock on the door. Ben excitedly ran up to open it, revealing Myranda.

"Ben come here" Belle called to him. He ran to her side immediately, and she pushed him behind her slightly, tightening her grip on Ava.

"What are you doing here?" Anthony barked at her.

Myranda flinched at the anger in his voice. She regained her composure and straightening up a bit, stepped forward, closing the door. "I'm here to make a deal."


	19. Revealed Intentions

Anthony glared at the woman. She was a threat to his family and he wasn't about to let her cause more pain to them. "Mom, why don't you take Ben out to the waiting room with you." Nancy walked over to Ben and picked him up, grabbing the remainder of his lunch walked out of the room, keeping him guarded from Myranda as they passed her.

"What kind of deal do you want to make?" Belle asked.

Myranda took a few steps closer to them. "I will go to the police and turn in Gavin for what he did to you." Their eyes opened wide, but not with shock. They had suspected that Myranda might have been involved somehow. "I want you to know I had absolutely no part in this. I never wanted to harm your children."

"You just wanted to hurt me." Anthony spoke up, his voice like ice.

"Yes, but not like this. If I turn him in, he threatened to take me down with him. I want you to tell the police that I'm innocent and to not arrest me along with that monster."

Anthony huffed. "Why would we do that, we don't need you to nail Gavin on the head with this."

Myranda bit her lip, a tear forming in the corner of her eye. "If you do that, I'll move away. I won't come near Ben again. I won't try to get any contact, I'll even sign something if that would please you."

Belle looked her over. "Why are you doing this?" she asked.

Myranda gulped, "I'm trying to do the right thing. For the first time in my life. If you don't stop gavin now, he's going to keep coming at you. Please, let me help you."

Belle looked to Anthony who was still on edge. "Anthony, what do you think?" she asked him gently.

When he looked to her his eyes softened, "I think that I should begin writing up a contract." Belle nodded her head in agreement, shifting Ava in her arms. Myranda smiled and thanked them.

"I'm going to the police station right now. I'm sorry, for all of this." she said to them before walking out.

Belle bounced Ava gently in her arms, trying to lull her back to sleep. All the excitement had woken her. "Do you think we can trust her?" she asked Anthony, still a little apprehensive about the woman.

"I'm not sure. I guess we'll find out." He looked to Belle, who was making soft cooing noises at their daughter. Sometimes he still couldn't believe that it was all real. That he had Belle, the most beautiful, loving, spectacular woman he'd ever known. "I love you Belle."

She looked up and smiled at him, "I love you too." Nancy came back in with Ben and they filled her in on what was happening. Ben sat down on the ground and played with his toys, happy as can be.

"The house is beautiful. I think you'll be very happy there." Nancy told them. "When do you think you'll be discharged?" she asked Anthony.

He shrugged his shoulders, "I have to get my right leg cleaned again tomorrow, it's not healing as fast as they expected it to. Hopefully within the next week or so."

Nancy's face immediately dropped with worry. "Is it infected? Does it hurt terribly?" Anthony chuckled, trying to ease her nerves.

"It's not that bad, really. They just think that cleaning it out again will help the healing process. It shouldn't hurt too bad." Anthony was putting on a brave face, but on the inside he was terrified of the pain he would be going through. He knew Belle would try to stay in the room with him, and he didn't want to her to see him screaming like a little girl. "Perhaps while all that is happening tomorrow you two can go start rearranging the furniture."

Belle gave him a death glare. "We talked about this, Anthony. I'm not leaving this hospital without you, and I'm certainly not going to arrange our new house without you." Here it comes. "I'll stay with you and hold your hand if you'd like."

Anthony wanted to say no, he wanted to more than anything. "Are you sure you'd want to be in here for that. It might be..."

"Of course I would stay in here with you. Only if you want me to though." she said. He could tell that if he said he didn't want her there, she would be crushed. Now he was screwed.

That next morning when Whale walked into his room, his nerves took over. Belle noticed immediately and instead of saying something, she just reached over and grabbed his hand, letting him squeeze. She did always know best.

"Alright Anthony, I'm going to give you a little something for the pain." Whale cleaned up a spot on his leg a few inches above the burn and gave him the injection. The numbing effect wasn't instantaneous. After a few minutes, Anthony told Whale he was starting to feel a tingly sensation in his toes, and Whale took that as a sign to begin.

The overall experience was extremely painful. Belle tried her best to soothe him but her little kisses and reassuring words could only do so much. Whale made sure to give him a little something for the pain before leaving the room.

"This should make you more comfortable." Whale told him. "Don't be afraid to call for a nurse if you feel like the pain isn't subsiding."

Once they were alone, Belle leaned over his bed to place a warm kiss to his lips. "Are you sure you're alright?" she asked. "You don't have to be brave for me you know?"

Anthony sighed, "Belle..."

"Save it. I know that you're in pain. Stop trying to hide it from me. I don't hide anything from you." Anthony looked at her desperately. This conversation had taken a sharp turn. He knew he would have to tell her eventually, but he had hoped that it wouldn't be until after they were married, that way it would be harder for her to leave him.

He looked away from her, turning his head toward the window. He couldn't look her in the eye, not while he told this story. "I wasn't... When I met Myranda, I wasn't a very good man. We met in college. I didn't want to be there, my father forced me to go, so I could take over his company. I was a very angry person, especially when I drank. After a few years and an engagement she left me. Then, four years ago we met at a party. I was already hammered by the time she got there and when I saw her with her little boy toy I got very jealous. I ended up beating the shit out of the poor bastard. She was, turned on by that for some reason and we ended up having..." he trailed off, uncomfortable talking about his past sex life with his present lover. "When she called me a couple of weeks later telling me she was pregnant, I was shocked to say the least. I tried to be an active participant in the pregnancy, going to doctors appointments and such. I paid for everything of course. She took whatever extra she could and I let her. When Ben was born, she didn't leave right away. The first year was us fighting over him. She wanted her boyfriend to adopt him and kick me out of the picture. She tried to make claims that I had raped her, and she I shouldn't be allowed anywhere near my child. We ended up getting joint custody, but I didn't want her anywhere near him. So I paid her off. I made her sign a document saying that she would relinquish all of her parental rights to me and stay away from the both of us. And, she left."

Belle was silent for a long while. Anthony was still looking outside the window, worried that if he looked at her, he would be watching her leave. Belle had no idea what to say. She was surprised, that was for sure. She was disappointed. At the same time, she was grateful. If he hadn't done what he did, they probably never would have met. And if Myranda took the money over her own son, then that's still abandonment.

"How much did you pay her?" she asked quietly.

Anthony snorted, "A lot." He still wouldn't face her.

Belle looked at him, trying to read his facial expression. He kept his face turned away from her though, which she found frustrating. "Anthony..." she called to him, but he didn't budge. "Anthony..." she called again in a more sing-song voice. His ears perked up, but still didn't move. "Do you think that I'm going to leave you?" she asked, and he remained still. "I thought I was supposed to e the insecure one in this relationship?" she tried to joke, but that didn't work either. "Will you just look at me!" she yelled at him.

He turned his head slowly, still averting her direct gaze. "Do you have any idea..." Here it comes, he thought, I'm going to lose her. "... how much I love you?" What? He looked up from his spot on the floor. "Nothing you tell me about your past, can change the man that I'm in love with today." Hope returned to his eyes.

"I paid off the mother of my child, so I could have sole custody. That doesn't disgust you?" he asked her.

Belle shook her head, and bit her bottom lip. "You were desperate" she defended him. "Just because you made the offer, didn't mean she had to accept. I would never give up my children, not for all the money in the world. She didn't truly love or want Ben if she was willing to give him up for money. You love your son, Anthony. How could that disgust me?" she asked him, giving him one of her beautiful smiles.

"I regretted it" he admitted. "The second she signed that document, I regretted it. I wanted to take it all back... but she was gone before I got the chance." Belle squeezed his hand, still smiling at him. "It all worked out in the end though." he told her.

"Oh?" Belle was teasing him. "How?" she asked him.

He laughed at her playfulness. "Well, I met this incredible woman, with a heart so pure it would put an angel's to shame. She saved me. I've thanked God everyday since she's come into my life, that I get to call her mine."

Belle wiped the tear that was the threatening to fall from her eye away. "I'm not that special" she said softly, barely above a whisper.

"Yes. You are that special. You're everything right in this world. I'm a better person because of you. You make me better. I'm a better father. Ben... you're his everything too. We would both be lost without you Belle."

"You could've gone out the backdoor." Anthony looked at her, confused. "During the fire. You could've walked around to the bedroom window, and I could've lowered the kids down to you. You wouldn't have been hurt if you hadn't come upstairs."

"But then you would be in this bed" he told her. "I couldn't just leave you up there alone with our children Belle."

"I wouldn't have been burned. I would've been fine, and we wouldn't have been confined to a hospital bed for weeks." He could tell Belle would him on this until she won. She needed to realize though, that she wasn't going to win.

"I promised not to leave you. Walking out that back door, would've been breaking that promise." Belle gave him a look, silently telling him that he was full of it. "I would do anything for you Belle. I would gladly die, if it meant keeping you and our children safe."

She reached to the bed and grabbed his hand, scooting her chair closer to the bed. "I guess, I'm still not used to someone loving me the way you do."

Anthony lifted her hand to his lips, "Hopefully after the first ten years or so you'll become accustomed to it." Belle laughed at his joke and leaned over to rest her head against his shoulder. "I love you, so so much Belle. Don't ever forget that."

"I love you too Anthony. I'll never stop."


	20. Make This Place Our Home

**So sorry for this extremely late update. Life has been hectic lately. Hopefully I get to update sooner from now on. Anyway I threw a little smut in her to make up for my lateness. Enjoy ;)**

* * *

The day had finally come when Anthony could be released from the hospital. After waiting one more hour for the nurse to bring in the release papers, Anthony grabbed his crutches and followed Belle out to the car. Nancy had brought the car around already, and had Ava and Ben in the car seats ready to go. Anthony slipped into the passenger seat and Belle took his crutches so she could place them in the trunk. Then she jumped in the back next to the kids and they headed for home.

Neither Belle or Anthony had actually seen their new house. Neither of them had been out of the hospital since Anthony was admitted. When they pulled into the driveway, Ben got very excited. He had already explored their new home and was clearly very comfortable living there which made his parents happy.

"Well the color is certainly going to take some getting used to." Anthony mumbled as Belle helped him out of the car before unbuckling Ben and Ava. Ben lead the way to the front door. Belle carried Ava in her carseat up the front steps while keeping her free arm intertwined with Anthony's. He still wasn't used to using the cane the Doctor gave him, so he was using Belle for extra support.

Walking into their new home for the first time conjured a lot of different emotions. For one, they were thrilled just to be out of the hospital. There was a part of them that knew they would have a happy life here. It wasn't like they moved out of state. They didn't have as much privacy as they had before. They actually had neighbors now.

"Maybe there are other kids on this street. That would be great for Ben." Belle said. Anthony only nodded in agreement as he soaked in his surroundings. The furniture they bought was similar to what they had before. The kitchen seemed spacious. The house itself was beautiful. It would just take some getting used to.

Nancy walked up to them with a supportive smile. "If you rearrange the furniture I promise I won't be offended." she joked with them.

"Everything looks fine mom." Anthony stepped away from Belle, trying to prove he wasn't completely helpless. Then he noticed the stairs and his face scrunched up, displeased.

"I think there is a spare bedroom downstairs," Belle informed him, "we can sleep down here until your leg feels better."

Anthony waved her off and approached the mountain of steps. He was gripping his cane so tightly that his knuckles were white. The first step wasn't too awful, but the sixth began to test his pain tolerance. He hadn't taken any pain meds in nearly a week, trying to prove he could survive comfortably enough without them.

"Anthony, stop!" Belle scolded him. "This is ridiculous, just let me help you down." Anthony shook his head and proceeded to climb the stairs. Belle was at his side in an instant. "You don't have to prove anything to me. There's nothing wrong with needing help." Belle was getting very frustrated by his stubbornness. "If you land yourself back in the hospital because of this foolishness I will never let you live it down." Anthony stopped at that. "Just, please stay off the stairs for a few days, at least."

"I can climb the bloody stairs, just so you're aware." He handed Belle his cane and let her wrap an arm around his back.

"Yes I know you can climb the bloody stairs."

"Don't tease me, love. I'll have to tease you right back."

Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, they heard Ben calling to them from his new room, upstairs. "I'll go see what all the fuss is about." Belle found Ben in his room, with all of his new stuffed animals organized by size and species lined up against the wall. "Wow! I think you have even more animals now!" Belle exclaimed.

"I miss my lion." Ben told his mother, admiring his other animals.

Belle bent down to be at eye-level with him. "I know it's sad to lose things that we love. It's okay to miss your lion, Ben. You know what?" Ben shook his head. "Tomorrow, when we go shopping for new clothes, if you see another lion that you think could be just as brave as your other one, I'll buy it." Ben smiled and gave his mother a hug.

"Thank you mama."

Belle pulled back and ruffled Ben's hair. "Why don't you introduce me to all your new friends?" Ben perked up at that and excitedly pulled Belle to the beginning of his line of animals.

While Belle was upstairs, being introduced to all of Ben's new elephants, tigers and a whole bunch of other animals, Anthony was trying to get a feel for their new house.

"I'm sure you'll get used to it dear." Nancy tried to comfort her son but he seemed to be dead set on making his situation as difficult as possible.

"I almost wish we had just rebuilt." he admitted.

"You know how long that would have taken?" Nancy asked him. "I love you four dearly, but my apartment was not made for five, no matter how tiny two of you might be."

Anthony huffed, settling down on the couch. "I just feel like it shouldn't be this hard. I shouldn't be so pissy about a house."

Nancy took a seat next to her son after pulling Ava out of her car seat. Anthony looked at his daughter, reaching out his arms to take her. He held her close to his chest and watched her big blue eyes roam the room. "Why are you so pissy about the house?" Nancy asked him.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I'm just not over the old one. So many wonderful things happened in that house. Ben's first word, his first step. Belle and I fell in love in that house. It's where I proposed, it's where we... never mind."

Nancy smirked at him. "I'm well aware that you and Belle are sexually active dear. Babies don't make themselves." Anthony glared at her, trying to make the blush on his cheeks disappear before Belle came back downstairs.

"I just felt so at home in that house. Here, I can't even walk up the stairs. It doesn't feel like a home to me."

"You know son, it's not the paint or the fancy appliances that make a home a home. It's the people living in it and the love they have for each other." She left him with those words, giving him a quick kiss to the forehead before going out to the car to get a couple more of their bags.

That night, after Nancy had gone home and Ben and Ava were asleep, Belle and Anthony were sitting in their new kitchen sipping on some hot coco. "I know that you're still a bit uneasy about all of this." Anthony opened his mouth to speak, but Belle held up a finger to his lips. "Don't try and deny it. I'm not having the easiest time adjusting either, you know. It's gonna take some time, but we can make this house just as homey as or other one was."

Anthony laced his fingers through hers. "You are, and incredible woman. What did I ever do to deserve you?"

Belle blushed and ducked her head slightly. "That's easy," she began to tell him, "you loved me. You protected me. You listened to me. That's more than I could have ever hoped for."

They leaned into each other, enjoying the closeness. "What do you say we go christen our new, temporary bedroom?" She laughed at his suggestion, but eagerly accepted the idea.

"Is your leg going to be alright?" Anthony pulled her through the living room and into the bedroom, closing the door half way.

"I haven't made love to you in over a month. I don't give a damn about my leg." With that said, Anthony pulled her flush against him, crashing his lips onto hers. Belle's hands dove into his hair, scratching his scalp lightly. They stayed like that for a while, just holding each other, until the need for more than mind altering kisses became too much for either of them to bare.

Belle backed Anthony against the bed until he had no choice but to sit down. She stepped between his legs and pushed him back. "I never got to properly thank you for saving our lives." Anthony stared up at her, his hands on her hips. Belle then straddled him, pressing her hands against his chest. She ran her hands down to the hem of his shirt and pulled it up and over his head, tossing it aside without a care. She leaned forward and pressed feather light kisses to his exposed skin.

"Belle" he gasped when she flicked his nipple with her tongue.

She smiled against his skin and kissed her way down to shorts. After fumbling with the button for a few moments, she unzipped them with her teeth. She slowly crawled off the bed to pull them off, being mindful of his burnt leg. Once his shorts were off and he had nothing on but his boxers, she decided to do a little strip tease for him.

So she turned around to face away from him as she inched her shirt up, when it hit the floor she heard Anthony groan behind her. Then she slid the straps of her bra off without unhooking it. She turned to him them before unbuttoning her jeans and letting them fall to the floor along with her shirt. She bit her lip, not knowing why she was nervous. Anthony was sitting up, the tent in his boxers more prominent now, he beckoned her to come closer. She gladly stepped between his legs, once again.

Anthony's hand reached around her back to the clasp of her bra, and he removed the garment with ease. Belle carded a hand through his hair, tugging his gaze from her breasts. "How would you like to be thanked?" she asked innocently.

Anthony grinned at her, "Let me make you scream." Belle nodded in agreement at once, letting him pull her down and flip them over. "You're so beautiful Belle." Before he could see her blush he had his mouth locked to her oh so sensitive breasts.

"Anthony" she cried out, holding him hard against her. His hand came up to knead her other breast while he lavished the other with bites and kisses. He sucked hard on her nipple, getting rewarded for his efforts by a little spurt of milk.

Belle really blushed then, out of embarrassment. "I'm sorry.." she tried to tell him but he silence her with a kiss.

"For what?" he asked, and she just smiled at him. He continued his teasing, showing her no mercy, until he had her begging for him. "Tell me what you want, my Belle. Tell me, and I promise I'll give it to you."

Belle panted hard beneath him, gripping the elastic band of his boxers. "I want these off," she commanded. "I want you inside me."

Before he granted her wish, he leaned in for another soul shattering kiss. His tongue slipped between her lips easily, and he made sure to devour every crevice of her delicious mouth. He yanked off her panties, throwing them across the room. Then, with her help, he removed his boxers.

He lined them up, then looked at her almost startled. "Condom?" he asked. She shook her head and wrapped her legs around his waist, her heels rubbing circles into his lower back.

"Birth control" she told him. He nodded and began pushing into her. He went slowly, cherishing each second. When he was completely sheathed he collapsed against her, holding onto her for dear life.

"I love you Belle" he whispered in her ear, before he pulled out and sunk back in. His thrusts were fast and deep. Belle had to bite Anthony's shoulder to keep from screaming, not wanting to wake their children. "Belle" he panted, his thrusts becoming erratic. He could feel her start to tighten around him and knew she as close as he was. "Come with me, Belle."

Her nails dug into his back, her legs tightened around his waist, her lips collided with his as they found their bliss together.


End file.
